


Written in the Scars

by Gyoro_and_Ururun



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Humour, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-01-09 13:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 59,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1146400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyoro_and_Ururun/pseuds/Gyoro_and_Ururun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his failed attempt at conquering Midgard, Loki is banished to Midgard in order to repair the damage he has caused and perhaps regain whatever is left of his sanity. Along with being banished, he has been reduced to a mortal-like form, with restrictions on his powers. Naturally his first instinct is to shut himself in his new room, moping like a child. </p><p>But what happens when the assistant of his brother's lover accidentally mistakes his room for her new room?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Today this ends

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is one of, like, a few fanfiction ideas I've had for Tasertricks and decided to finally take the plunge and upload it. I will probably just warn you here that my chapters might not be the longest chapters in the world, but on the plus side: I imagine it will be a longish fic. I've not even planned that far ahead, so right now it's up in the air and you just focus on (hopefully) enjoying it!

A blaze of ice blue energy ripped through the air and blasted a hole in the aircraft manned by Agent Romanov, Agent Barton and Steve Rogers, sending the flaming craft spiraling away. Loki quickly defended himself again as Thor lunged at him, their weapons clashing and Thor keeping him there.

“Look at this! Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?” Thor shouted.

“It is too late,” Loki said, looking around, as if regretful. “It is too late to stop it.”

“No, we can. Together,” Thor said, hopefully. Thor saw what looked like an opening; he thought that maybe his brother was regretful of his actions and would join them to fight the Chitauri. He felt a pain in his abdomen as one of Loki’s knives sliced through.

“Sentiment,” Loki scoffed. “This is your weakness, Thor. You are so very easy to manipulate. That is why you will lose, and I will win.” Loki stepped out of the way as Thor lunged at him with a growl. “You should have heard it. Your mortal woman…what was her name? Jane Foster? You know, your friends are not very good at hiding; so easy was it for me to find her. I told you, did I not? That I would visit her. Oh, yes, did I visit her. You have no idea the feeling, after I made sure her heart beat for the last time.” An almighty roar of pain and horror erupted from the Thunder God as he lunged back at Loki, this time hitting him with Mjolnir, sending him crashing through the window. Thor picked up his brother by the neck, squeezing it tightly, anger and grief in his expression before it faltered and he dropped Loki. Loki escaped off the roof and onto a Chitauri cruiser.

 

* * *

 

Thor took hold of the Tesseract after Loki did and twisted it, taking them up in a familiar vortex and dropping them at the end of the Bifrost. He was met by the sight of Heimdall, diligently watching at his post. The gatekeeper did not turn, but he was by no means ignoring the Prince.

“Welcome back, your father awaits your return,” Heimdall said. Thor nodded, having no words to say to the gatekeeper in his current situation, burdened with a tremendous amount of emotions. Love and concern for his brother, darkened and overshadowed by the feeling of disgust and horror at what he had done, along with betrayal. Thor felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back at Heimdall. “She lives.” Thor’s eyes widened as he knew who he meant without having to ask.

“Thank you, Heimdall,” Thor said, his voice shaky. He pulled Loki along by the chains and walked silently along the rest of the Bifrost, then through the city where his fellow Asgardians praised his return, before looking on darkly at the fallen Prince in chains. Loki’s eyes remained on the ground as he followed Thor through, unable to say anything back even if he wanted to. The doors to the palace opened and he was led through to the main hall where the thrones sat, the King and Queen already seated there, waiting. Sif and the Warriors Three stood off to the side, glaring at the form of Loki.

Loki was brought before Odin and Frigga, the former stern and the latter looking sad to see her youngest son like this. Loki had never been this bad before. Loki could see the disappointment and sadness in Frigga’s eyes; the one who he once called mother, but now…he had no family. The anger was too deep in his veins; the betrayal, the favouritism, the overshadowing…everything. Loki turned his eyes to the ground once more, unable to face the emotion in Frigga’s face. He was pushed to his knees by Thor and awaited his sentencing.

“You have returned…my son, you have disappointed us, your family, and Asgard,” Odin stated. Loki glared a hole in the ground, but could not argue. “Your crimes are numerous: for sneaking Frost Giants into Asgard, the attempt on Thor’s life and causing harm to the town he was banished to, for trying to destroy Jotunheim and its people, and lastly, for causing chaos and destruction to Midgard, where numerous lost their lives.”

“For these acts, you will be punished,” Odin said. “For your crimes, you will have placed upon you a seal, so that you cannot harm an innocent being, directly or indirectly, magically or physically. You will be reduced to a form similar to that of a mortal, so that you might learn how it is to be that which you wished to harm. Finally, you will be banished to Midgard, where you will be at the mercy of their Avengers. Thor will make sure that you will not be fatally wounded. There, you will aide the reconstruction and healing of their city.”

Loki frowned at Odin; it was an awfully tame punishment. He had expected some form of torture, but then, maybe they knew it would not work; the look on Frigga’s face told him that she had something to do with it as well. However, it would seem that he would not be allowed back to Asgard until he learnt something and there was no hope in all of Yggdrasil in fooling the old man by faking anything. He was shocked that his magic would stay, but then, he was grateful, even if it would be stifled somewhat. He watched as Odin pointed Gungnir at him and a light enveloped his wrists and neck. A muffled whimper came from him as the light seared runic marks into his wrists and throat. He felt himself become weak and started clutching at his throat.

Thor watched grimly as the punishment was put upon his brother. Even though what Loki had done was utterly despicable, he could never hate his brother. Despite Loki having told him he had killed Jane, Thor had been unable to kill him. Now he knew that Jane lived, it was pain off his chest. Thor only wished that they could rewind all of this; that they could go back to the friendly relationship they had before the coronation. That he had not made Loki feel inferior, even if it had not been intentional. No, if they could go back to that at all, it would take a long time. Thor only hoped that it was not impossible. He met Odin’s eyes and he saw his father nod. Thor pulled Loki up off of the floor and Odin created a portal using the Tesseract, which Thor pulled Loki through.

Loki felt weaker and tighter being pulled through the portal in a weakened body. It felt almost as if time was going slower and that he would be driven mad by the transportation, or, rather, driven even _madder_ than he already was. Finding out that you were the monster you were brought up to hate after two millennia of believing you were one thing and suddenly you’re not…it was enough to bring all of the resentment to the surface and bring with it a new anger and hatred, twisting your insides until you have no other choice, but to just _snap_. Hanging off the edge of the Bifrost, holding onto Gungnir as his only link between his so-called family and the abyss…he had chosen the abyss. No matter what he did, he would never be Thor’s equal. Death seemed like the only option. Though death did not come. Only madness.

They landed on the bridge that they had left from, the sun now starting to set and the city eerily quiet. Smoke billowed from various buildings and the sounds of sirens littered the air. Loki had been down to Midgard enough to know what each of the emergency vehicles were like, give or take variations of the many different cultures of the realm. It really was a sight to behold; there was a clenching in his stomach and he felt a little sick as there was the faint scent of burning flesh in the air. Thor grabbed him roughly and Loki found himself flying through the air quickly. Flying was infinitely more comfortable when it wasn’t being flown through the air by Thor. They landed on the balcony of Stark tower they had been fighting upon not a number of hours ago. 


	2. Devil on the doorstep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor takes Loki to Stark Tower and Thor is reunited with a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! So I uploaded this so quickly since the first chapter was so short, but likelihood is that I won't be quite this quick in updating after this. Simply coz I would rather leave you waiting a week than months, should muse be short in supply. x] Darcy and Jane should be coming in the next chapter so woohoo!
> 
> Thanks to all those who have left kudos/comments; you're awesome!

After landing on the balcony of Stark tower, the evidence of their skirmish in plain sight, Thor led Loki into the battered lounge where he had found his brother, barely able to crawl away. No matter what Loki did, the sight of him in such a battered state brought pain to his heart. Thor knew and understood that he should feel only revulsion and horror at the devastation his brother had done to Midgard; all of those lives lost, all the pain wrought, families broken and yet, the love he held for his brother felt like a candlelight that could not be snuffed out. Maybe it was different for Loki; he did not seem to want anything to do with him or their parents, which saddened him greatly, but his own feelings could not be quashed.

Only the somewhat distant sounds of the broken city outside could be heard now, neither brother making a sound; Loki couldn’t even if he had wanted to, for neither Odin nor Thor had thought to remove the muzzle. Thor would leave that up to S.H.I.E.L.D. for now. Emergency sirens, the odd crash of the aftermath that still raged across the city as structures fell from the lack of support, yelling and crying. All rather clear to the two with Godly hearing. One desperate to assist, one desperate to escape from it. Neither one moved.

The sound of the elevator rang through the air followed by footfalls and clinking of weaponry as Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Agents Romanov and Barton, along with some other agents came towards them, unamused and very serious.

“I thought you were taking _him_ back to Asgard,” Fury said, by way of greeting.

“Director Fury, please give me the chance to explain. I realise it is rather large a request that I seek to put upon you, but our father wishes for Loki to serve out his punishment here on Midgard, much like I had a year ago. He has been reduced to a mortal body and his powers limited that he cannot harm an innocent being, either physically, magically, directly or indirectly. I assure you that he therefore cannot harm anymore of your people,” Thor explained. Fury raised an eyebrow.

“Really? This is the almighty God of Magic and Chaos here we are talking about. How can we know for sure that he is safe?” Fury asked.

“You have my word. I saw it for myself and our father is a powerful man, if you have any faith in me at all you will believe what I say is true,” Thor said. “He is to serve his punishment at your order, although I would prefer it if you lay no physical harm upon him; there are better ways to seek justice than that of torture. He will, however, assist in the rebuilding of your city and in any other way possible, lest he have to remain here forever.” Loki was currently glaring at the large dent in the floor where the beast had smashed him.

“So you’re telling us that your father expects us to have him here indefinitely?” Natasha asked, unimpressed.

“He is but a mere mortal with harmless magical powers now,” Thor repeated, but there was a gravity to his emphasis that silenced the agents for a moment, and Thor’s expression could not hide the pain behind his eyes. If his brother never redeemed himself, then Thor would lose him to old age. It pained him more than he could speak through words. He knew their mother and father would mourn his passing if it came to that, but Loki needed to be punished.

“Alright, well, it’s not like we can do much else at this point. Luckily for us, Stark Tower doesn’t need too much in the way of reparation, although we do not have a cell for him. We are in the midst of drawing up plans to make part of Stark Tower into our new headquarters,” Fury said.

“You need not place Loki in a cell, he is harmless and will not attempt an escape,” Thor spoke. Natasha raised an eyebrow.

“How do you know that?” She asked. Thor turned to Loki; in all honesty, he could not guarantee that as much as he could the harmless part. Green eyes met his blue ones and Thor gave him a look that clearly questioned the God of Mischief whether he would try to run. Loki shook his head, his eyes hollow. Thor turned back and nodded.

“Even if he _does_ attempt, I will find him. Please, do not worry, my friends,” Thor said.

“Very well, but you need to talk to Stark first,” Fury said.

“Where might I find him?” Thor asked.

“Sir, Mr. Stark will be joining you in a few minutes, I have let him know that you are here,” Jarvis answered. Thor looked around, unsure of where the voice was coming from.

“That is Stark’s computer, Jarvis. It is connected to the whole building and into his Iron Man suit. He will assist you if you ask,” Fury said.

Thor nodded and before he could say anything, the sound of something landing outside drew his attention to the windows. Tony in his Iron Man suit was walking towards the door, his suit being taken off of him as he did so before entering and stepping closer to the two Gods, an eyebrow raised.

“So even the heavens spat Rock of Ages out? Too bad. What brings you here?” Tony asked. Thor explained the situation and Tony looked to the God in question, who was still in the muzzle and cuffs they had kindly supplied for him. Loki had his back to Tony, and turned away from the agents. “Okay, okay, I guess I can let you stay. Just, no more tantrums, okay, Jailbreak? When we have problems, we don’t go to someone else’s backyard and break things. You go to your mom and dad’s room and break _their_ things instead.”

“Thank you, Tony, you have my gratitude,” Thor said.

“Yeah, yeah, but you guys owe me, hm?” Tony said.

“Of course,” Thor said, humbly.

“Alright! I’ll show you two to a room each. All of my rooms are state of the art, so this lucky bastard will be one luxurious prisoner. It’s more than you deserve, so be grateful,” Tony said, leading them into the elevator. “Are we keeping these chains and muzzle? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s a great look, if you’re into that shit, but it’s not very practical.” The elevator started downwards and Tony started working the muzzle off.

“Sir-,” Jarvis started.

“Not now, Jarvis,” Tony said, brow furrowed in concentration. He finally got the thing off and put it to the floor before unlocking the cuffs. “Don’t make me regret this, Rocky.” Loki ignored him, just standing there as if nothing had changed. The elevator stopped and Tony frowned at the number on the screen. “Ground floor? Why are we-?” The doors opened and showed Pepper standing there, looking furious. “Oh, shit.”

Pepper stopped the door before Tony could jab at the close buttons effectively. “ _Tony_ ,” Pepper said. She reached him and fought with herself before throwing her arms around him. “I saw the news and I saw what you did with that missile! How could you be so _reckless_?! You stupid, stupid—” Pepper was in tears by now and Tony placed his hands on her back, patting awkwardly.

“Hey, hey…relax. You know me, never a dull moment. Besides, I probably would have died anyway if I _hadn’t_ done that, so cheer up, eh?” Tony said, lightly. Pepper fixed him with a glare. “Okay, bad choice of words. But it’s over now and you can’t take me down that easily, so how about we just focus on fixing up New York?” Pepper sniffed and nodded, looking back up at him, before noticing who else was in the elevator. Her eyes widened.

“Isn’t that—” Pepper started.

“Don’t worry, he’s like a little bunny right now, harmless. His pops obviously has this impression that Earth is their prison. Quite insulting, really. Anyway, I was just showing them to their rooms before you overrode the command,” Tony said, pushing the button and sending the elevator back up. It felt like a heck of a long time being in that elevator with the guy who flattened Manhatten and his brother. He could not have been happier to hear the ding, leading Pepper and the brothers onto the floor. Walking in silence, Tony stopped at two doors, one opposite the other.

“Okay, so, it works like a mini-apartment. You kids play nice, you hear? There’s a lounge and communal kitchen up there, and a few of the others will be on this floor as well…Birdseye really wants to put an arrow into your eye socket, so don’t give him a reason,” Tony said, winking, before leaving with Pepper.

Loki remained silent and merely opened the door to his right, closing it behind him. He leant against the door, taking in the room. Not as big as his own room back on Asgard, or rather, his _former_ room, but bigger than some of the Midgardian rooms he had seen before. Although, this was like one of those apartment abodes he had heard of. A miniature home. A lounging area, a kitchen, a door off to the side and a door just ahead. Bedroom and bathroom. Loki just stared around, leaning against the door, for some time. So this was where he was to live for the unforeseeable future…He was mortal now. If he did not ‘see the error of his ways’, he would die of old age. How glorious. Was that really the best Odin could do? If he died, it would hurt them more than he. Had he not wanted death the moment he let go of Gungnir? Let go of all fears and embrace the darkness of death, which did not come, but in this situation…it would come.

And he would be free.

But was that what he truly wanted? Perhaps if he was feeling truly vindictive and vengeful, then yes, maybe he would just let time take him. The hatred and anger was so set within him, that Loki did not know whether he could ever feel happiness again. Simple tricks would not amuse him, most people would never trust him again nor like him, his heritage alone made him miserable…Loki would merely see what life brought. Perhaps he would find new reasons, perhaps he would be able to become immortal again, or perhaps there was no hope for him. Loki straightened up and walked slowly through his new accommodations…as much as he hated to admit it, they were far better than what he had previously. His last good accommodations had been his former room on Asgard. He opened the door to his bedroom and looked around, taking in the large bed and the soft, neutral colours. He spotted an armchair and sat down within it, looking around thoughtfully. The bed slowly became that of green with one thick gold strip silk covers and pillows, while the sheets became black. The walls took on a nice shade of light gold. He sat there for a moment in silence before conjuring a book to read.

 

* * *

 

Thor looked around his room and sat down. But he soon stood up, unable to sit still and left his room, staring at Loki’s door for a moment before walking down the corridor. In all honesty, the building was strange to him and he was unsure where to go, with all of its many rooms and floors. He remembered the computer, Jarvis, or something. He looked at a strange contraption on the wall next to the box they had arrived in. “I wish to speak with the one called Jarvis?” Thor asked, uncertainty in his voice.

“Yes, Mr. Thor?” Jarvis asked.

“Ah yes, I would like to know who I can speak to in regards to Jane Foster,” Thor said.

“Of course, I believe Erik Selvig will be living on this very floor, in the corridor to your right. He is in room 14C,” Jarvis answered.

“Thank you, Jarvis,” Thor said, finding it rather strange to talk to a speaking inanimate object.

“You’re most welcome,” Jarvis said. Thor walked off down the corridor, searching through the numbers until he found 14C. He knocked, remembering to be careful with the fragile door. It opened to a tired looking Erik. The man perked up immediately.

“Thor! It’s good to see you, it’s been a long time,” Erik said, with some disappointment in his tone.

“Yes, my apologies, my fight with my brother ended in the necessity of destroying the Bifrost, that another realm not be destroyed. I could not return until recently, when it was absolutely necessary,” Thor said.

“I fear that won’t matter to Jane,” Erik teased.

“That is one reason I have come; I wish to know where she is. My brother had led me to believe her dead, but Heimdall spoke of her living,” Thor said.

“She is safe, and I believe they are bringing her back. She should be back in a day or two,” Erik said. Thor beamed widely.

“Thank you, Erik Selvig,” Thor said.

“Would you like to come in? I think I have some good ale for you to try,” Erik said.

“Of course!” Thor said, laughing.


	3. What took so long?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane and Darcy return to the US, New York specifically, to see the wreckage up close and to reunite with a certain blond-haired God...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait; been a wee bit busy. Thank you soooosooosoo much for the kudos and the comments! I love each and every one of them. <3 It fills me with joy! 
> 
> Darcy: incoming!

“ _So_ glad to be back in the States. I mean, sure, Tromso was…no, screw it, it was so boring and stupid S.H.I.E.L.D. still have my iPod, there was _nothing_ good about that place. We couldn’t even go outside,” the voice of Darcy spoke to Jane’s exasperation and Erik’s bemusement. Erik had gone with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to pick them up from the jet they had been brought over in. Darcy got into the back of the black vehicle with Jane, looking around at the snazzy interior. Darcy had finished college with a 4.0 GPA, but had decided to return to Jane’s side while she searched for job opportunities; she had enough funds to cover herself, though with Jane working for S.H.I.E.L.D. now, there was a chance she could get paid, which Darcy wasn’t going to complain about. “What? I don’t like being stuck in a place where I can’t at least stretch my legs; I don’t want to be suffocated. Of course, since you barely leave the lab to eat, it’s different for you.” She saw Jane look at her sheepishly.

“It could not be avoided, Darcy; I’m sure you’ve heard of what happened to New York?” Erik asked.

“The guy with the horns? Yep, hard to avoid seeing _that_ on the news,” Darcy answered. “He got his ass kicked by Iron Man and the others, right? Is Thor still around…?” Darcy asked as casually as possible, but she knew her friend was anxious for the answer to that very question.

“Yes, he’s at Stark Tower, where we’re headed. Don’t worry, Jane. You’ll see him soon enough,” Erik said, chuckling knowingly. Darcy watched as Jane’s features lit up. It was about time. It was going to be the reunion of the century. She wanted to be there so that she could tease them later. Maybe post it on Facebook before they shut her account down for it.

So the ride was fairly long and the anticipation high; Darcy couldn’t wait to get a chance to meet Tony Stark and see all of the technology he had going there, and Jane was cruisin’ for some lovin’, which Darcy didn’t neglect to say to Jane just to see her blush and tell her to stop. She was _so_ going to have to get the dirt out of Jane one way or another once the two got down and dirty. After all, what fun was there having girlfriends if you’re not going to share the goss? None, nada, nope. She would get it out of her at some point.

The long journey finally started coming to its end as they arrived in the Manhatten area, in which Darcy’s face was pulled to the window as she observed the sheer reality that was the damage to the city. She had known about it, and seen the odd picture, but pictures did it no justice. It was a wreck; it was like someone had come here and used it as their own personal wrecking ground, which she supposed was kind of true. There was silence in the car as they drove, where before there was light chatter. It had to be one of the worst disasters, or at least man-made (could you call it that? Maybe it was better to say ‘that was not a natural disaster’, though that was wordy) disasters, the world had ever seen. Thank God they had people to protect them; she wasn’t sure this was what ordinary soldiers could fight off. Big metal things…it reminded her of the Destroyer that was sent down to New Mexico the year before, and even the Asgardians had trouble fighting it. It was definitely a good thing that Thor got his mojo back at that point. She didn’t think the two of them would be here if he hadn’t.

Darcy looked over at Jane and she knew that all thoughts of Thor were out of her mind as she observed the damage that had been wrought upon the city. It was extremely difficult to think of happy things whilst looking at this, trying to ignore the thoughts of how many must have died; they hadn’t heard much from the aftermath, just that it was over and the ‘Avengers’ featuring the Norse God Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Hawkeye and Black Widow and Dr. Banner had saved the day. Boy, were those guys going to become the nation’s beloved or what? At least, she thought they would, or should. Darcy didn’t realise they had reached Stark Tower until the car stopped and the door opened for them. Darcy got out, followed by Jane, and they were led inside. It seemed a little worse for wear on the outside, but the interior was relatively normal. Or, what she supposed was normal.

A blonde woman came out of the elevator just then and walked up to them. “Hi, you must be Jane and Darcy, right? I’m Pepper Potts, Tony Stark’s personal secretary. It’s really nice to meet you,” Pepper said with a smile, holding out her hand. Jane shook her hand first before Darcy did too. “Tony and Thor are both upstairs, if you’d like to follow me?” The girls nodded and followed Pepper into the elevator with Erik. The ride to the top was silent, but not uncomfortable. Finally, the door binged and opened, and Pepper led them into what must have been the lounging area, with a bar to the right and a bit of a wreck somewhere to the left. Darcy wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. A bit further left was an area with seats, where two men were sat. Both stood up and came over to the girls and Erik. “Hey, welcome to my tower, I’m Tony Stark, though you probably already know that,” Tony said.

“Nice to meet you,” Darcy said. “I’m Darcy.”

“Pleasure,” Tony said. He noticed her gaze. “Oh, that? That’s where the Hulk smashed Thor’s little brother into the floor a few times, kinda like Bam-Bam from the Flintstones. I tell you, the footage is frikkin’ hilarious. It’s already gone viral and it’s a huge hit. I’m also thinking of just leaving this wreckage here, you know, as a wonderful reminder. If it were more in the middle, I’d position the chairs around it.” Darcy couldn’t help but laugh. She was certain they would get on. Darcy looked over at Thor and Jane, who were hugging and, yeah, Darcy was smirking at them.

“I do hope you’ll get a room; I’m not sure I’m comfortable with watching anything that’s usually kept in the bedroom,” Darcy said, which instantly grabbed their attention. Jane pulled away from Thor, flustered and Thor looked a little sheepish. Darcy gave a single wave. “Hi, I’m that other friend you made a year back? Except the one you didn’t start sucking the face off before leaving. It’s ok, though. You’re not my type anyway.”

Thor came forward and beamed at Darcy. “Lady Darcy, it is wonderful to see you again. Fear not, I had not forgotten you,” Thor said. Darcy giggled a little and patted his arm a couple of times.

“Relax, big guy. I’m just teasing you,” Darcy said. Thor looked a little relieved at that. “So, do we get a room or are we to choose a chair out here?” Tony chuckled and gestured for them to follow.

“Right this way,” Tony said. Darcy followed Tony back into the elevator and to the same floor he took the Godly brothers, showing them down the corridor and stopping in front of Thor’s door. “Thor’s room; I don’t know whether you want your own room or to share his, Jane…” Tony winked at the now blushing Jane. “Hey, take the room next to his if you want.” Darcy rolled her eyes and took one next to Loki’s room. Not that she knew he was here, of course.

“I’ll leave you guys to debate it; I really need a shower,” Darcy said, before closing the door. Darcy turned to look at the room and it was pretty damn good, though she’d expect nothing less from Tony Stark. A kitchen area, a lounge area, a dining area…and separate doors to what she assumed would be the bedroom and bathroom. She walked further in and saw the television, which immediately made her eyes grow wide. “Holy shit.” It was huge and top-of-the-range. After being stuck in Tromso for such a time, this sure as hell made up for it.

But first of all, she needed that shower.

 

* * *

 

Jane closed the door behind them and smiled sheepishly at Thor.

“Sorry, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m not the kind of girl to rush into things so quickly and then there’s—” Jane started, before Thor held a hand up to stop her.

“Relax, I do not expect anything Jane, I only hope that your feelings remain strong like mine have,” Thor said with a smile. Jane had opted for her own room while they got reacquainted and, anyway, she wasn’t one to quickly move in with the boyfriend. If that’s what they were. That was another question on her mind. “While my feelings for you have come on quickly in such a short space of time, they are by no means no less genuine, and I wish to take the time to get to know you.”

Jane smiled in relief to that and nodded her head. “My feelings are mutual; I just want to know, are we, you know, together, like a couple?” Jane asked, with a laugh as it sounded so silly saying it out loud. Thor laughed along with her and took her hand in his.

“I am much relieved to hear that, Jane, and would like to ask if I could court you? Or I suppose by Midgardian terms, date you?” Thor asked, kissing her hand which made her feel that familiar giddy feeling, wanting to giggle like a teenager.

“Of course,” Jane said, looking happier than she’d been in a long while, before she threw her arms around him and he wrapped his arms around her. After the year he’d had believing his brother dead and then having to fight Loki once again, he was relieved to have such a welcome after his long absence away from Jane. Thinking of Loki, he sighed and pulled back.

“There is something else I must tell you, but I promise you that you and everyone here are safe,” Thor said. Jane looked at him seriously, her expression waiting. “My father has decreed that my brother be banished here, his powers limited and his body turned mortal. The Man of Iron has allowed his accommodation in his home and for that, I am grateful. I do hope, however, that he can learn from his mistakes and become a better person. I think the company of everyone here might help, as yourself, Lady Darcy and Erik did so for me.”

Jane’s expression became shocked and Thor immediately worried there would be a problem, but before he could say anymore, Jane became pensive before speaking.

“If he’s powerless, although…what about physical attacks?” Jane asked.

“He is unable to cause direct or indirect harm, physically or magically, to anyone, save maybe those of evil intent. Worry not, my Jane, he will not harm you or anyone here,” Thor said, holding her face. They smiled at each other, worries drifting away as they enjoyed each other’s company.   

 

 

 


	4. Contempt loves the silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Invader becomes the invaded as Loki finds a rather unwelcome visit to his new abode.

Darcy stepped out of the bathroom freshly cleaned and ready to carry on her day, most likely being lazy and watching some television; she wasn’t going to be working anytime soon and the clean up wasn’t going on today as far as she could tell. So, day off! Hair dry, snacks found and remote in hand, she dropped herself down onto the sofa and pressed the power button, watching as the lights turned on and…static. Darcy pressed another button, but there was more static. She must have pressed them all before chucking it to the other side of the sofa in a huff and slumping back in the sofa.

“So much for top-of-the-range…” Darcy said, although she wondered whether it had anything to do with the attack. She stood up after a moment and walked to the door, opening it and thinking for a moment, before shrugging to herself and making her way into the room to her left, shutting the door and sitting down in the sofa there, clutching her snacks to herself as she picked up the remote and tried this TV instead. To her relief, it turned on and she commenced in watching the Big Bang Theory. She loved the show a lot and had missed it very much while she was in Tromso. Seriously, how she had survived without a TV was beyond her. Or at least internet, but they didn’t even have that.

About ten minutes later, Darcy didn’t realise she was no longer alone in the room until she heard the voice speak.

“What are you doing in my room?”

Darcy jumped in her seat at the sudden speech and stood up, turning around to find a tall, dark-haired man stood there looking none too happy. She couldn’t help but think that he seemed familiar; green eyes, odd clothes, and he looked a little worse for wear. _Oh holy mother of-_

“What the hell are _you_ doing here?!” Darcy exclaimed, her hand slowly going into her pocket and wrapping around the familiar comfort of her taser, even though technically she wasn’t allowed a taser in New York, but she had only just arrived here. She would definitely have to talk to S.H.I.E.L.D. about special permission or whatever. However, the current issue was why the alien terrorist was in this room, and what did he mean by _his_ room. Surely he couldn’t be serious? She swallowed a little as the alien—Loki—made a few steps towards her.

“I am staying within these quarters. You, however, are uninvited,” Loki said. Oh, he was a little too close and, well, the next thing she knew, Loki was shaking after she had brought out her taser and pressed the trigger. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Darcy stood there, staring at the fallen Norse God as he lay unconscious on his back, wondering what the hell she should do now. If she stayed long enough for him to awaken, she was going to be in a lot of trouble and she didn’t really fancy dying on her first day back to the States. So she ran out and knocked on Thor’s door erratically. “Thor! Open up!” Darcy called out. She heard some footsteps and the door opened to show Thor, looking concerned.

“Lady Darcy, what is wrong?” He asked.

“The guy who flattened New York’s in the room opposite; I was using the TV, as mine was broken, and he suddenly was there, claiming that I was in his room,” Darcy said. A look of realisation spread across Thor’s face and he left the room, shutting it surprisingly carefully for a man with his muscles.

“Ah, Lady Darcy, I had not had the chance to inform you that he, my brother, is here on punishment for his crimes. He will not, however, hurt you, for his powers have been restricted,” Thor said. Darcy blinked at him; so Earth was Asgard’s naughty corner now? What kind of bullshit was this? If she ever met this Odin, she’d tell him where to shove it.

“I see. Well, your brother’s not going to be particularly happy with me; I just tased his ass,” Darcy said with a shrug. Thor blinked before laughing.

“You are quite something, Lady Darcy. My brother will not be happy, no,” Thor said, crossing over into his brother’s room and seeing the damage himself. He was thankful that his powers and physical abilities would not allow him to harm his friend; he could not trust his brother right now. Thor bent down and lifted Loki into his arms, before carrying him to his bed, lying him down on the sheets. “He will awaken in time.” Darcy looked around the room, though it was pretty much the same as her own. The whole apartment was the same, save for the fact it was just the opposite way around. A few minutes later, both of them turned their attention to the unconscious God as he let out a groan.

 

* * *

 

Loki had been exploring the tower, invisible of course, for the lack of anything better to do. He thought it best to know the layout of the place he would be trapped for the unforeseeable future. Loki knew that his punishment upon Midgard would be far longer than that of Thor’s; even if their crimes had been the same, Thor would always win out in the end. He kept the bitter feelings buried deep within him, not wishing to give Odin any reason to make his punishment worse. After all, even if he would likely die a mortal before he managed to regain the trust of all those who supposedly loved him, he still had his magic. Restricted, yes. He was unable to silence that insufferable man Stark, even though he seemed to aggravate each of his team members.

As soon as he returned to his abode, however, he found a mortal female sitting in front of the strange box he had yet to find out about. Now, it had moving pictures upon its surface. However, soon he felt a great jolt of pain run through him after speaking with the mortal and everything went black. When he felt consciousness stirring within him again, he groaned and blinked his eyes open. In his line of sight he could see Thor sat on the side of his bed and the mortal stood a little behind him. Loki’s eyes didn’t stay on the mortal long before turning back to the form of Thor, who appeared to be hiding his humour poorly. Loki scowled at him; if he was here to mock him, then he could leave. Or rather, he could leave regardless.

“Leave me, Thor,” Loki growled.

“Good day to you too, brother,” Thor said. Loki glared at his incorrect usage of the word brother. “I see you have met my friend Darcy Lewis.”

“Is that her name? I care not, Thor. Now if you have nothing useful to say, leave,” Loki said, turning on his side away from Thor, ignoring the pain it brought him.

He felt the pressure on the bed leave, much to his relief. “Very well, brother, but do not think that I have given up on you yet. While I have not forgiven you yet, my love for you never wanes,” Thor said. Loki scowled.

“You are an idiot,” Loki said.

“Call me what you like, I—,” Thor started. Loki turned and sat up painfully at the same time, unconsciously sending a wave of green light towards him that caused the mortal girl to shriek and the magic just fizzled before it hit Thor. Loki growled and Thor shook his head, leading the mortal out of the room and shutting the door. Loki looked at his hands with a frown; that magic would not have hurt the oaf, merely sent him backwards, but…ahh, the mortal. Perhaps it would have hurt the mortal girl. This was the third time he had seen that girl and once again he could not fathom what Thor saw in the little scientist mortal, since Darcy Lewis was clearly the more attractive one. Not that he cared either way; if he had a choice, he would take himself far away from those he knew and…well, he was not sure what he would do after that, but it was a start.

Loki could hear some sound still within his outer chambers and stood up, walking over to the door and opening it. He was relieved to see that neither Thor nor his friend was in here; the box had just been left on. He turned it off with his magic and returned to his room. Loki shut the door with a quiet click and stared around the room. He was tired, but he didn’t want to sleep.

He had more to fear from dreams than reality.

 

* * *

 

Darcy sat down on Thor’s sofa and rested her head against the back.

“Darce, do you want a drink?” Jane asked.

“Pile up the vodka,” Darcy said dryly, but chuckled when she saw Jane’s expression. “Fine, fine. Hot chocolate.” She watched as Jane got to it and Thor sat on the armchair near the two seater she’d sat on. He looked apologetic.

“Lady Darcy, I apologise for my brother, his spell aimed for me must have stopped for risk of hurting you,” Thor said.

“It looked like a flippin’ avada kadavra curse! What does it even _do_?” Darcy asked.

“It just pushes me backwards. Loki started using it when he couldn’t physically push me back and I, er, annoyed him,” Thor said, his eyes full of reminiscence. Even though his brother was a psycho, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the big guy. The guy had a lot of love and she found that she was even happier for Jane. Though she couldn’t really say for certain right now, he seemed to truly love Jane. Hopefully he wouldn’t hurt her, because she would find a way to taze his ass and have it hurt him even in all his Godly glory.

“Do you think this whole redemption thing will happen? Can someone who caused that much shit really change?” Darcy asked, gratefully taking the mug of hot chocolate from Jane and watched as Jane sat next to her. She could tell she had asked a difficult question of Thor; painful, even, but she was curious. Darcy knew his crimes when he had been banished were bad, but as far as she could tell, Loki’s actions were far worse.

“My brother never used to be this way; he was thoughtful, wise, kind…perhaps hiding his animosity for my callousness towards him and arrogance, however…we are brothers. We had each other’s backs and no matter the strife, we loved one another…our blood does not change that, but…he does not seem to think the same,” Thor said in a low voice and Darcy heard the pain there. Darcy felt a great amount of compassion for him and she reached forward to place her hand on his.

“Then keep showing him this; don’t give up on him and be persistent, no matter how many times he might reject you,” Darcy said. “Because when he does come around, he’ll need you.” Perhaps she was using a far too optimistic preposition there, but why not? The big guy needed the comfort and the reassurance. Thor looked at her and gave her a sad, but grateful smile.

“Thank you, Lady Darcy. Your words mean a lot to me,” Thor said. Darcy smiled bashfully and looked at Jane, whose eyes would not leave Thor, filled with sorrow, wariness, love and worry for Thor. Darcy knew she was an oddity and would have a higher chance of accepting Loki than Jane, because Darcy was just…Darcy. If he tried anything on her, she would tase him. Simple as. Considering he couldn’t actually hurt her, that was pretty extreme.

Darcy finished her hot chocolate and stood up. “I think I’m going to head back to my room, leave you two to talk. We still have some time before we have to go back to work, and you’re starting the rebuild tomorrow, right? So you’re going to want to have some Thor and Janey time, so I’ll leave you to it,” Darcy said.

“Are you sure?” Jane asked. “You could stay…”

“Naw, c’mon, you haven’t seen each other in a year or whatever, so I’m happy to let you two reacquaint yourselves…though, do so quietly. I _am_ only across the way. And Loki’s insane enough without adding to it,” Darcy said, winking playfully before giving Jane a hug. “Laters.” Darcy returned to her room, realising she would need to get a lot of stuff shipped up here.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! Hoped you enjoyed it; I enjoyed writing it. :D 
> 
> More Darcy and Loki interaction in the next chapter!


	5. Let the light in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy is bored and decides to bother the resident villain; he can't hurt her, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My longest chapter yet! 
> 
> And I will admit, yes, it's probably a bit odd of Darcy. 
> 
> Hopefully you'll enjoy it! I probably won't be updating until sometime after the 19th; I'm going on a five day trip come Saturday. Wooohoo!

The next day found Darcy without a TV again and she walked out of her little apartment, turning right to see whether the door would open. Nope. She looked back towards Loki’s door before walking to the end of the corridor, looking at the little Jarvis box.

“Jarvis, is Tony around?” Darcy asked.

“I’m afraid Tony is out right now. If you would like me to notify you of his return, I can do that, Miss. Lewis,” Jarvis said.

“Nah it’s okay,” Darcy said, waving her hand at the AI before walking back towards her room, staring at Loki’s door before shrugging and trying the door handle. It worked, and she stepped inside, going straight to the spot she had occupied the day before, switching on the TV to a low level so that she would not disturb the cranky God and started watching. An early showing of the Time Traveller’s wife…oh God, she was going to be bawling by the end of it and she was in Loki’s apartment. Screw it, she’d come this far.

“…You are back,” a familiar voice spoke from behind her and she jumped in surprise, but otherwise didn’t turn around.

“Yep, my TV’s still broken,” Darcy replied simply. He moved into her line of vision, coming slowly around the couch. He didn’t look too happy.

“Why not go elsewhere?” Loki asked.

“Locked or…would _you_ want to attempt Jane or Thor’s room? I don’t really want to risk seeing or hearing anything I don’t want to hear,” Darcy said.

“I care not for your plight; you should leave,” Loki said.

“But I’m already ten minutes into the movie! I’d miss some,” Darcy said, as if it was already decided. Then the asshole stepped in front of the TV and she scooched over from side to side to try and see past him before glaring angrily at him. “C’mon!”

“I am not moving,” Loki said. Darcy made herself more comfortable.

“Me neither,” Darcy said. They stared at each other for sometime and Darcy couldn’t help but notice that although he still looked like shit, with the slight evidence of dark rings underneath his eyes and a few lingering cuts and bruises, he had handsome features. It made her want to know what he looked like without the defeated villain look. That and his hair could do with something. An idea suddenly came to her. She huffed. “If you’re not going to move, at least come and join me? It’s a good film, sad though.” The God merely narrowed his eyes. Darcy decided to be brave (or stupid, but he was powerless, right?) and stood up, walking up to him and ignoring his inquisitive expression in favour of quickly pushing him towards the couch. He stumbled a little towards it before straightening up and glaring at her. At least she managed to budge him a _little_. He might not be muscles like Thor, but he sure didn’t look easy to move. She must have taken him by surprise. Score one to Darcy.

“Come on, just sit down. I’ll leave when this ends, so you might as well _sit_ ,” Darcy said. She had no idea what was running through her head, being so blasé with him. This guy blew up half of Manhatten and tried to kill Thor.

The guy just wouldn’t budge so she managed to push him the rest of the way, landing unceremoniously onto the couch, glaring at her with those vivid emerald green eyes. Who was he, Harry Potter? Darcy smiled and sat down next to him, picking up the remote and rewinding the TV so that he could watch it from the start too. “Good, now stick around and watch this film with me, okay? You might find you like it. You seem like the kind of guy who likes a confusing and complicated plot,” Darcy said. “At least, it’s somewhat complicated. Just…a strange relationship. Eh, just watch it.” Darcy had the feeling he was glaring at her for a little while, but he eventually started watching the TV and it fell silent between them for a while.

“So, have you watched a movie before?” Darcy asked, taking her eyes off of the screen for a moment to look at him. She saw him move his eyes to hers as he answered.

“No, I have not. Your…TV…is a mystery to me,” Loki replied reluctantly. Darcy chuckled.

“It shows all kinds of things. These movies are like visual books, like a play…do you have plays? Operas? Musicals?” Darcy asked.

“We have some theatre, mostly from Vanaheim, as well as opera. However, I have seen numerous Midgardian pieces as well,” Loki said. Darcy paused the movie, so glad for these rewind channels, and stood up.

“So you don’t _completely_ hate us, then?” Darcy grinned. “I’m going to get a drink and some snacks…hope you don’t mind me raiding your kitchen. D’you want anything? A drink?”

“You are awfully bold for an average Midgardian,” Loki said.

“And you're mighty boring for a God of Mischief, buuuuuuut you don’t see me complaining,” Darcy said, nonchalantly. She knew she’d regret her words if he were to take her up on what could be perceived as a challenge.

“I think my last piece of mischief is still being dealt with,” Loki said dryly.

“That’s not mischief; that’s chaos. There’s a difference. Mischief is planting whoopee cushions in people’s chairs, rigging showers, changing ringtones, drawing moustaches on people while they sleep. Trying to bend people to your will and having an army trash the city is so _not_ mischief,” Darcy said, neither telling him off nor so nonchalant as before. Loki raised an eyebrow at her and she closed the fridge door, leaning against it holding two bottles of juice for a moment as the two just stared at each other. Blink. Damn, well, she knew she wouldn’t win a staring competition with a Norse God (what hope did she really have to begin with? She could dream). Darcy finally placed both bottles in one arm before grabbing a bag of Doritos and walking back over to the couch. She sat down and gave Loki one of the bottles, opening the Doritos before placing it between them.

Darcy noticed the way that he just stared at the cheesy snacks. “They’re tasty, try one,” Darcy said. Loki looked down at the bag and reached into it, trying one. Darcy watched his expression, but the asshole was FortKnox. “Well?”

“It is…acceptable,” Loki responded. Darcy couldn’t stop herself from whacking him on the arm.

“Dude they’re way better than acceptable, you’re just too proud to admit it,” Darcy said, unfazed by the way he just stared at her.

“You have some nerve hitting me, mortal,” Loki said, giving her an intense look. Darcy shrugged and settled into a more comfortable position on the couch, unpausing the TV.

“Considering I know that tasers work on you, I’m not really scared of you,” Darcy said simply.

That shut him up.

 

* * *

 

Of course, the next day the door was locked.

Darcy huffed as she stood outside the door, unable to turn the handle. She looked around for the little box on the wall that had Jarvis in it and walked towards it.

“Jarvis, are you able to open doors?” Darcy asked.

“I can override the lock mechanism, yes, although I am not authorised to do so,” Jarvis responded.

“Understandable…though can you open Loki’s door? Surely his privacy is limited? Or, you know, something. Damn, that sounded so wrong,” Darcy muttered. She was just curious, though. She hadn’t bothered to go down to Tony about it because she knew he was busy with a lot of things. And Loki’s company was…interesting, to put it one way. Darcy wasn’t really sure why she wanted to bug him again; the fact that he was the only one available to speak to that wasn’t busy with the city or kissing their boyfriend could not possibly be it.

“I’m afraid his door is locked with what must be magic, Miss. Lewis. I cannot override his door,” Jarvis said.

“Damn, figures. Thanks anyway,” Darcy said.

“You are most welcome,” Jarvis said. Darcy walked back down the corridor and re-entered her apartment. Walking further in, she noticed something that hadn’t really registered much in her mind.

A random cupboard, one for coats and such. She knew that on the other side of the wall, where Loki’s room lay, was the very same cupboard. The cogs turned in her head and she had a rather crazy idea. She just needed to find the little gadget that would do the trick for her. It must have taken her ten minutes to locate the little laser cutter. She assumed it was for emergencies. This was an emergency; she had no TV. Okay, so it wasn’t for that reason. She was just bored and the idea of bugging the God of Mischief was oddly tempting, even if she did run the risk of him deciding to get some sort of revenge on her. Thankfully he couldn’t hurt her. So she cut a hole through the back of the cupboard, then through the wall and finally the back of his cupboard, carefully taking the bits out each time to clear the space. Finally, she had a way in. She might not be a scientist, but she was resourceful in her own way.

Darcy closed her cupboard doors behind her before stepping through the hole and opening Loki’s cupboard door, peeking out and seeing no one in the living area, even after poking her head out some more. She closed the door quietly and made her way over to the sofa, sitting down and turning the TV on. Hogod, Marley and Me. Was this channel the torture of tears channel?! She paused the TV, stood up and turned to walk into the kitchen before nearly jumping out of her skin at the sight of Loki just in front of her.

“How did you get in this time? I have sealed the door with magic,” Loki asked, in a calm and yet slightly irritable voice.

“Magic,” Darcy quipped, before walking past him and grabbing some things from his kitchen. This guy really knew how to sneak up on people. Darcy ignored his scowl as she returned to the sofa. “C’mon, I’m watching another movie. Maybe you’ll even cry at this one.” She doubted it, but she could never resist a remark like that. She unpaused the TV and it didn’t take long until she felt the presence of her grumpy acquaintance sit down next to her. Somehow Loki seemed like he would be more of a cat person while Thor would be a dog person. Not that she knew the crazy one beside her that much, other than very brief exchanges, but those were her impressions. They watched the movie in silence until it was nearing the end and Darcy found herself blubbering like a baby. Sure, the Time Traveller’s wife was sad, but it didn’t reduce her to tears as this movie always did.

“Damn, I should have brought some tissues,” Darcy said, unabashed. She didn’t care if Loki thought she was pathetic. However, she was quite surprised when she saw a box of tissues from the corner of her eye and she looked over to see Loki was holding it out to her with an unreadable expression. Of course _he_ hadn’t been reduced to tears at all. She took them gratefully, cleaning up her face and chuckling a little as she shut the TV off. “So, come on, what did you think?”

“It was…not bad. It was better than the last one,” Loki admitted, seeming reluctant.

“Really? I would have pegged you for a lover of confusing plotlines,” Darcy said.

“Yes, however, it was a doomed relationship and that was obvious from somewhere in the middle. Not knowing the outcome is far more exciting,” Loki responded. Darcy raised her eyebrows at that before grinning.

“You’re secretly a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?” Darcy teased. Loki shook his head.

“Hardly; I have no faith in love and relationships. It is merely boring to be told the end before you have seen the middle,” Loki said, standing up before she could respond. “If you please, Miss. Lewis, I would like to ask you to leave.”

“So you can cry without anyone knowing, huh?” Darcy grinned.

“No, I do not have any urge to weep over a fictional story, now if you do not mind…please leave,” Loki said, as politely as he could. Darcy sighed and stood up, mock saluting him.

“Okay boss, whatever you say,” Darcy said, before leaving through the front door. Loki was left with a puzzled expression.

 

* * *

 

Damn, Loki had figured out how she had gotten into his apartment and fixed it completely. Magically sealed it too, from the way her laser cutter didn’t work this time. So Darcy had spent that day bored until she decided to just go ahead and knock on his door, taking him by surprise and walking in past him. He must have realised that resistance was futile because he shut the door and sat down next to her as before. She went on catch up TV and found the sad film that was on this morning. Titanic. All these films created specifically to kick you in the tear ducts. Needless to say, she cried again, he offered her tissues and they discussed whether or not the panel could have supported both of them, though in reality it wouldn’t have. She left of her own accord that time, probably surprising him since he usually had to tell her to leave. She liked to keep him on his toes. Hot damn, this was getting far too familiar.

Darcy took hold of her door handle when she heard the door opposite hers open and she looked around to see Jane exit her room.

“Oh, Darcy! I was just about to knock for you; do you fancy grabbing a coffee?” Jane asked. Darcy smiled brightly, so glad Jane hadn’t come out a few seconds before.

“Of course! I feel like we don’t talk enough these days,” Darcy said. She watched Jane flush sheepishly.

“I’m sorry Darcy; I know they’ve shut you out of the loop since they don’t realise how useful you are—” Jane started, before Darcy flapped her hands.

“Hey, hey, I’m not a scientist, remember? All that technical jargon kinda flies over my head, mainly because I never really took it seriously in school. Too busy heading up debates in philosophy class and exhausting the library’s many books,” Darcy said.

“Exactly. I was always rubbish with debate and analysing literary marvels,” Jane said, with a smile. “I’m sure we can find something that you can do; right now they don’t want either of us far from our rooms, and I guess I’ve been stuck to my computer.”

“You seriously need to take breaks more often, Janey! Thor’s not gonna like a girl who gets early wriiiiiinkles,” Darcy teased, making Jane swat her in the arm before they both laughed. When they stopped, Darcy became more serious.

“You really don’t think of me as a pain in the ass? I mean, I—” Darcy started.

“You might not understand everything that goes on in my field, but you’re still plenty smart, Darce. If I’ve implied otherwise, it’s because my head’s up in the clouds,” Jane said.

“When isn’t it?” Darcy grinned, earning another swat. “Kidding, kidding. Thanks, Jane. Now how about we get that coffee?”

 

* * *

 

The next morning Darcy felt cheerier than before; her coffee with Jane had turned into having a meal together, just the two of them, as they talked. Of course, over the year that Thor was back in Asgard, they’d become closer and felt more need to be around each other as friends, rather than just because they worked together. They’d found out they had a lot more in common than originally thought and bonded over Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Because who could resist that, especially when it was chocolate flavoured? It was only when they were stuck in Tromso when they became truly reliant on each other. Best friends, even. Jane didn’t really have many friends. The odd one she caught up with here and there, but it left much to be desired. Darcy had a number of friends, but ever since Thor landed, she’d had little time to truly hang out with them between S.H.I.E.L.D. keeping an eye on her and her final year of college.

Unlike per usual, Darcy didn’t even bother checking the television in her room. Somehow she’d become just a little fond of watching TV with Doom and Gloom, even if she really shouldn’t. She knocked on his door and waited, but it didn’t take long before the door opened and she didn’t give the guy a chance to stop her before ducking inside. However, the downside of this was the lack of foresight to his mood. Darcy turned around to see that Loki was positively seething. Sure, he was usually all scowl and no smiles, but this was a different thing entirely. Darcy couldn’t help but feel just a little bit scared by his expression. Just a little, mind. He still couldn’t hurt her. She found she couldn’t move as the God stepped closer to her, towering over her.

“I tire of your presence, mortal. Do you think that because I am powerless to physically harm you that I am free to be mocked and treated as though my privacy and personal space can be ignored? I know that if I appeared in your room whilst you were changing your garments that you would scream and insist that I leave, even attack me with that weapon of yours. Therefore, you will leave and never return, understood?” Loki hissed.

Darcy blinked at him. She never really thought about that before. Really, it had just been a case of her wanting to watch TV, then he had appeared and she’d freaked…and the next day, well, it was almost like a self-imposed dare. “I didn’t think—” Darcy started, but Loki cut her off.

“No, you did not; none of you ever do. I would have thought someone such as yourself would respect those around them,” Loki spat.

“What do you mean _someone like me_? What are you trying to say?” Darcy asked, her eyes narrowing.

“A shadow. A useless assistant who merely serves those with more talent and intelligence. Those destined for more than simple, menial tasks. How many here in this building actually know your name?” Loki asked snidely. Darcy blinked, this time her face full of hurt and she couldn’t help but feel the prickle of tears. She wasn’t usually taken by insults. Normally, she would just ignore them, argue back or simply flip them off if it was that bad, but this was an issue she had been trying to push out of her mind. It was one of the reasons why she had asked Jane yesterday whether she truly thought she was worth something. Working around someone like Jane, who pursued her dreams and worked so damned hard, even when things were tough, was difficult and made her feel like a useless gopher. Having a God say these things out loud…

“You’re wrong! Jane—” Darcy spoke.

“Miss. Foster will say anything to soothe, I am sure,” Loki spat. “Someone to speak to when she cannot speak to Thor.” Darcy scrunched up her face, hurt, before rushing out of the room and into her own, slamming the door and throwing herself onto her bed.

 

 

 


	6. Show 'em what you're worth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy gives Loki a piece of her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I changed my mind. This is my Valentine's gift to you, even though the chapter couldn't be much further from Valentine's. XD 
> 
> Thank you all so so much for your comments, both on last chapter and the chapters before, you guys really made my days! 
> 
> There is a little Loki perspective in this one, for those who have wanted to see that. :D 
> 
> Enjoy!

Darcy was glad to have had another girlie evening with Jane after the incident with Loki; Jane had actually noticed her low mood (Jane was a great friend, but with her head up in space so much, she was quite easy to hide from when Darcy felt down and was atrociously unable to hide her feelings). While Darcy didn’t want to confess her little rendezvous’ with Thor’s evil brother, she did allude to her feelings that came from Loki’s little tirade. Jane guessed immediately that someone had made her feel this way after they had confirmed the opposite the day before and Jane didn’t push for a name, she just got out a tub of ice cream and they watched Legally Blonde. Ice cream and a film about girl power was always a good way to end a day.

It was the next day now and Darcy felt like she could confront the asshat and give him what for. Sure, she had invaded his privacy, but she hadn’t deserved getting ripped into like that. Preying on her insecurities like that; he had no right to go there. So, he would get an earful from her. Darcy steeled herself and went to his door, knocking on it and waiting; it was a longer wait than yesterday, but when he finally opened the door, she barged past him and stood in his living room, unwilling to budge. She watched Loki shut the door with slight irritation in his expression.

“I thought I had gotten rid of you,” Loki growled.

“Shut the hell up, you arrogant asshole! Just because you’re some self-proclaimed God and a Prince does _not_ give you the right to treat people like dirt! Then again, what can I really expect from an evil jerk like you who finds it fun to go around blasting cities off the face of the Earth? First you send that giant robot down to New Mexico, nearly killing your own brother, then you bring an alien army down to destroy New York!” Darcy shouted at him. Loki looked taken aback.

“Thor is _not_ my—” Loki started, someone feebly.

“Oh, just _shut up_! Thor still loves you and your parents still love you, even though you did all of this and tried to blow up some planet. Some parents would disown kids for less than that, you ungrateful son of a…anyway. You can call me useless and stupid, but I’d rather be that than a heartless dick who has no friends!” Darcy berated him. She could have sworn she saw a flash of hurt flicker across his face before it disappeared.

“You don’t even know me. Yet you’ll happily insult me. You know, before all of that shit you pulled, you sounded like the type of guy I’d have fun hanging around with. And Thor misses his brother, the one he had before he turned crazy. There are people out there who don’t have families and now there are more because you frikkin’ killed them. So I hope you’re happy with yourself, because if you are, you’re going to need to be enough to keep yourself content because no one likes evil bastards!” Darcy ranted, before stomping out of the room and slamming the door, not even giving a last look at him to see how he reacted. She didn’t care; she was too angry. She was aware that maybe she had gone overboard and far too harsh, especially since she shouldn’t have invaded his privacy, but anger didn’t particularly make good friends with logic and reason. Despite this, she also felt a little accomplished. She returned to her room for the time being.

 

* * *

 

Loki stood there speechless, which was becoming more and more regular an occurrence. He had been in a bad mood the day before after a brief visit from Thor and he had not wanted her company. He still didn’t really want her company; company meant the small chance of getting to know them and getting close, and Loki did not want any of that. Loki was not sure _what_ he wanted, aside from his powers and immortality back. That would mean making amends, but could he? This was not the work of an arrogant Prince marching into Jotunheim against orders. This was so much more and he didn’t know whether it was reparable. Loki stepped closer to the sofa and sat down, deep in thought before realising he had sat on something. Moving, he picked up the remote control for the TV. He settled back down and clicked the on button, turning it to the channel that Darcy favoured. The words Seven Pounds came up on the screen after the film began and he silently watched the film.

Loki also thought about her words; he had wondered over their few encounters why she came to his room, knowing full well he was the monster who caused great chaos, _twice_ , upon her realm. Why would she place herself in such a presence? Why would she not feel disgusted by his presence? She was a normal person with nothing bad in her background, unlike some of the members of the Avengers team. Loki could already see that this film was not quite like the others; it was a tragedy from the very beginning, and just under two hours later, he is staring at the credits, feeling something inside that hurt. But he did not cry like Darcy would have.

Loki stood up and turned off the TV, settling the remote control neatly down on the coffee table and exiting his room. He stared at Darcy’s door for a moment before he left the corridor completely and made his way up the stairs towards the room that Dr. Banner had made his case against him. It was almost completely empty, save for the quiet gasp coming from a random corner. Loki looked over to see a fair haired woman who appeared to be neatening out the room. Stark’s woman. Her shocked expression quickly became a guarded one and he turned away, walking to the windows and stepping out of the door to walk onto the platform Stark had relinquished his armour on. Naturally the woman was suspicious of him. Therefore a smart one. He came to the edge of the platform, looking over the city. It seemed little better off than when he had arrived; smoke billowing, emergency sirens polluting the airwaves…the Chittauri bodies had been removed, at least.

Loki sat down on the edge, feet dangling over and staring down at the city before closing his eyes. The Avengers were down there shifting rubble and trying to repair the city. Loki knew he could do it faster. Glass started flying back towards its place, repairing itself as if it had not been smashed when the metal beasts had scraped the sides of the building. Concrete roads and pavements mended themselves, and cars flipped back over onto their wheels, restored to how they were before. Fires were extinguished, road signs re-aligned and shop fronts fixed themselves. There was a lot to fix and it took a couple of hours. In the meantime, Stark had landed behind him and removed his armour, saying nothing. One by one the Avengers had each returned to that room, conversing and he knew his reparations were the focal discussion. He ignored them, for the most part, concentrating on fixing what he had broken.

After he finished, he stood up and looked around at the city that was now fixed. Loki felt drained; he was still very weak and the mortal body did not help. He turned and walked back into the room, which seemed to grow silent as he entered.

“So, you finally decided to help. Well, perhaps you could have a drink with us,” Stark said. Loki merely made eye contact with Thor and left them to it. Loki was not in the mood to celebrate with those who he had not even made amends with. It would be some time before any of them became friendly with him, though he supposed Stark would be one of the first. Barton would be last, if at all. Loki had no problem with this; his desire for company was not so desperate that he wanted the archer to forgive him. It did fascinate him that there were humans who still practiced archery, but that was as far as it went. He found his way to his floor and room, taking hold of the handle before turning when he heard footsteps. Darcy. Loki kept an unreadable expression on his face as he regarded her. They said nothing to one another and Loki pushed the handle down before entering his room and closing the door behind him. He stepped over to the sofa and lay down, closing his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Darcy was surprised to see Loki out of his room; she had started to think of him as a hermit, as she had certainly heard nothing from the others about him taking little trips out of there either. Not to mention there was something about him; something different. Like he had aged a decade or something, which was weird given how he and his brother were, you know, immortal and all. Darcy knew he didn’t particularly look healthy to begin with, but his current look was even worse. So rather than going to her room as planned, she decided to head upstairs. When she found the Avengers sitting around and laughing with drinks, Darcy walked up to them.

“Hey, Darcy! Come and join us,” Tony said, beckoning her over to sit with them. When she did, he got up and got her a drink he knew she liked. She thanked him and looked at Thor.

“I bumped into your brother just now; I don’t think I’ve seen him come out of his bat cave before today,” Darcy said, neglecting to say that she had seen him since the tasering incident. She watched as Thor practically lit up.

“Yes! He came and helped us fix the city!” Thor boomed, sounding proud and happy. Clint snorted.

“You mean he came and fixed it all with his magic, leaving us looking like useless beggars. Don’t get me wrong; it was his shit to clean up, but that was way too easy,” Clint said, displeased.

“Did you tell him he had to do it by hand?” Darcy asked.

“Well, no, but—” Clint started.

“Maybe he can read minds, I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound like he did read them, so how’s he to know?” Darcy asked.

“Why are you defending him?” Clint asked. Darcy shrugged.

“I’m not; I have a degree in political science. It’s in my nature to try and see both sides, work out better solutions,” Darcy said, before sipping her drink. One glance at Thor showed her that she was definitely on that man’s good list. She was really glad Thor hadn’t given up on Loki; sure, she wasn’t on Loki’s side. He had a heck of a lot to make up for and she didn’t trust him, but she was sure that things would be worse if he had no one left. That sort of thing could really make a person desperate and give them no reason to bring themselves back up into the light.

“I am sure my brother will carry on proving himself; he came up here of his own free will and assisted us. It is a good start,” Thor said, standing up and retrieving another beer for himself. Darcy was so glad the sofas were big, because she would be squashed between Thor and Tony. Not that Tony was huge, but whatever.

“So, what do the rest of you think? I’m curious,” Darcy said, sipping her drink and making a mental note to make sure she didn’t drink too many of these.

“It’s a good start. He started sooner than I had anticipated,” Natasha replied. Darcy raised an eyebrow, but the Black Widow said no more. She was truly a woman of professionalism; Darcy, from hearing the full story of what happened from the various members (at her persistence), had expected Agent Romanov to say something along the lines of what Clint had said.

“I am of the firm belief that if a man wants to atone for his sins, then we should allow him the chance. If we didn’t, then we would just be giving him fuel to try again,” Steve said.

“I’m with Steve. I haven’t forgiven him, but if he makes an effort, then it’s something,” Bruce said.

“A good number of us have our skeletons; his are little different,” Tony said.

“Thank you, friends,” Thor said, beaming.

 _Maybe things wouldn’t be too bad after all_ , Darcy thought.

 

 

 


	7. Is it not worth the risk?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to work for Darcy and not even her first day back to normalcy stays quite without "excitement."

Darcy groaned as work restarted; she had been enjoying the little break, even if it was highly inappropriate and she should be grateful she still had a job. Sure, most places had their shops and whatnot restored, but the lives were impossible to bring back. Tony was talking about creating a monument for the lives lost, and Darcy thought that was a pretty spectacular idea. Then she could have somewhere to pay her respects. Darcy was the kind of person who visited churches and cathedrals even if she wasn’t religious just for the architecture and such. Lighting a candle and donating a dollar. She also had a thing for taking pictures; she had all sorts of pictures from all the different places she had been. Although, a few of the pictures she had were a little tainted. Apparently her picture of one of the buildings was the one Loki had gone in and terrorised in some tailored suit. Stupid Norse God.

Her job was the same as ever; assisting Jane with her work, making sure she didn’t die from starvation, thirst or exhaustion, writing up notes and other such things. S.H.I.E.L.D. was giving her a salary, especially since they were looking into her work and would decide whether or not to take her on. Her degree would apparently come in handy for them and her observational skills had also been noted. That and Jane was a damned good reference, bless her heart. Darcy wasn’t sure what she would be doing with S.H.I.E.L.D., but if she was going to actually get some use out of the thousands of dollars she had spent to get that degree, then she was very happy. She’d realised about halfway through working for it that she didn’t actually know what she would do with a Political Science degree. Oh, she had Computer Science on the side, but it wasn’t the major, you know?

Darcy didn’t mind working for Jane, especially now that they knew each other better. At first, back before Thor’s arrival, she’d been viewed as a bit of a nuisance because she didn’t have a clue about what everything was. Of course, she soon learnt a lot about the technology. She was pretty damn good with computers. Something she was able to discuss in a lot of length with Tony and hot damn there was no outsmarting that guy. She knew a loss when she saw one. It was still fun learning about his technology; naturally she didn’t get to learn any secrets, but most people didn’t have a clue about technology other than how to use it. Behind the scenes? Lost.

Work was going well and she decided to take her break at 1 o’clock. Darcy got her pot noodle and various snacks and a drink before taking them upstairs to Tony’s lounge. She was about to sit down when a green light caught her attention and she looked out of the window, moving closer until she could see the back of Loki with the green light projecting up into the sky. What the hell was he doing? Darcy stepped outside, making sure that her footsteps would be heard, before going to the ledge he was on.

“What are you doing?” Darcy asked, curiously. “You’re not sending the killing curse to the sky, are you? We kinda need it, you know.” Okay, so she couldn’t help the joke. She didn’t even know whether he would get the reference.

“No, I am clearing your atmosphere of its pollutants,” Loki replied, sounding tired.

“Oooh. Oh wow. You can do that?” Darcy asked. “Hey, how long have you been up here? You sound like you—” She dropped her food as she saw him slipping. Automatically, Darcy found herself wrapping her arms around his chest and, oh _God_ , was he heavy. She tried ever so hard to pull him back over, but as she started yelling for Thor, she was falling over with him, her shins scraping on the ledge as she’d tried in vain to grab it with her legs and oh, _God_ , she was falling and she was going to die.

 

* * *

 

Loki had noted the time at 10am and there was no Darcy. No, the last time he had watched a film with her was three days ago and although he had seen her since, he found he kind of missed it. It was a frustrating feeling, missing someone, because he hadn’t felt such an emotion in a very long time. Not consciously, anyway. The films they watched were sad and he would not particularly want to re-watch them, but there was something about watching someone with no compulsion to hide her emotions weep over something fictional. He might pretend it was a silly notion to cry over something that wasn’t even real, but fiction had the power to draw you in and let you feel the emotion of the characters. Especially books. Perhaps he didn’t _cry_ , but he certainly _felt_ when he read books. And he had read a lot of books. Some were dull, but some were riveting.

So Loki made his way back up to the top floor and exited through to the balcony he had fixed the city from. He sat upon the ledge and stared up at the sky for a moment. There were some differences, of course, but it was not completely different to the sky of Asgard. There was, however, something wrong with it and he knew it had to do with the technology the mortals created that shifted great amounts of what he knew to be pollutants into the atmosphere. Therefore he decided to help clear that up. He was here to assist Midgard and by helping with something that was _not_ his fault, Loki would show them that he wasn’t just doing it because he had to. Hopefully. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure if he would ever put himself in a good light.

Loki performed an intricate spell, glowing green in colour, before sending it up into the sky. It would take a long time and sometime into it he saw Iron Man fly up into his vision. He didn’t really care what the man was doing in his suit despite there being no threats, but naturally the man wasn’t going to leave Loki alone.

“What are you doing, Reindeer Games?” Stark asked.

“Clearing your atmosphere of all of that dirt your technology produces,” Loki replied, his eyes not leaving the sky.

“Well, _my_ technology is clean, but…yeah…wow. No, that’s really cool. Magic can do a lot, huh?” Stark asked.

“Yes, though there are some limitations,” Loki responded.

“Let me guess: you can’t bring back the dead?” Stark asked. Loki stiffened a little, but carried on with the spell seamlessly.

“Correct. I have heard tell that there are ways to bring back a dead person, but the price is high,” Loki said.

“Like, for real? Not all Fullmetal Alchemist shit?” Stark asked. Loki blinked. “Nevermind, it’s a reference I doubt even half of Earth will get. Anyway, yeah, that makes sense. I do hope evil people aren’t brought back; we don’t need those Chittauri back.”

“The guardian of Helheim would not allow it,” Loki said dryly.

“That’s good. I’ll leave you to it,” Stark said, before shooting off somewhere. Leaving him in peace as he carried on with what he had set out to do. It must have been a few hours before he heard the deliberate footfall of another visitor. Darcy Lewis. She got very close to him and he noticed now he was getting tired, before everything went black.

 

* * *

 

When Loki’s eyes shot open after a brief moment of unconsciousness, he saw the city in a fast blur and realised he was falling. He also felt the feeling of arms around him and the pounding of her heart, the soft whimpers and words that were incoherent in her terror. It was Darcy. She had tried to stop him from falling over the edge and now she was paying for it as they fell to what would definitely be their deaths. Loki swivelled in her grasp on him and wrapped his own arms around her before closing his eyes and using his magic to slow them down a great deal. His magic wasn’t strong enough to transport them instantly, but he could slow their descent and turn them around enough to eventually land on their feet.

Well, kind of.

Toppling to the ground, Loki lay with Darcy sprawled on his chest, staring up at the sky with wide eyes. His heart was beating quite fast and he still held onto Darcy. The girl in question shakily got up onto her elbows, the points resting on the leather of his garb and looked terrified. As she rightly should be.

“You-you…we…oh my God,” Darcy wheezed, falling back down and dropping her face onto his chest, not caring to get up. People were mulling around them, shocked and scared. Some recognised him from the footage of the attack and ran away screaming, others were probably wondering how the hell the two of them had survived. Loki didn’t care enough to get up and quickly leave. Instead, he just lay there. The mortal on top of him made another attempt to lean on her elbows.

“That was scarier than that time you sent the giant robot,” Darcy breathed, and he could still feel her heart beating frantically. “You saved me…though I guess you had to, what with the whole unable to hurt me thing and all.” Loki shook his head.

“Not because of that…” Loki breathed. His breath came out shuddering and a single tear left each of his eyes. “I did not want another death to my name.” He heard the strained noise come from Darcy and the next thing he knew, her lips were on his. He blinked a few times and had no time to consider responding to it before she pulled back and rested her head against his chest.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

The next thing he knew, Thor came into his vision and helped Darcy up before offering Loki his hand too. Loki looked at Thor for a moment before inwardly sighing and allowing himself to be pulled up. He did step away from Thor and walked back into the building, ending up in the elevator with the two.

“Loki, what happened? Jane saw you and Lady Darcy falling,” Thor inquired.

“I used too much magic and must have been rendered unconscious. Miss. Lewis—” Loki started.

“I tried to grab him before he fell, but the momentum caught me. Thank God he woke up,” Darcy said, shivering a little. Thor put an arm around her before looking at Loki.

“I think you should perhaps be more careful, brother, but I am truly grateful that you saved her life,” Thor said, smiling widely. Loki just waved his hand at him, tired. The doors opened and Loki strode through the corridor, coming to the door of his room. With one last look at Darcy, he entered his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Anyway, I know it may seem like Loki's moving quickly and getting better quickly and whatnot, but he's still got a hell of a way to go to redemption. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it. :D


	8. I wish I knew you before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy learns a little more about the broody God and even questions him about certain myths involving him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of your nice comments! They always make my day. :3 And more Tony quips to come. ;)

It had been a week since the last time he had seen Darcy and he would be lying if he wasn’t a little bit disappointed in her lack of presence. He spent his time reading books, since he needed to recover some more after being rendered unconscious from such an act of magic. Now, whether that was because he was still recovering from Dr. Banner’s assault or whether it was his weak mortal body, he didn’t know, but he hadn’t bothered to try a second attempt since. Next time, he would definitely stay away from the edge. Because this time, he would die.

Loki had found himself watching the films in the morning; each one some form of sad story, from the Notebook, to A. I., P.S. I love you and a walk to remember. Each were sad in their own way, though as usual he did not cry. A.I. he came close to, but nothing. He did find them interesting to watch, however, but none that he would care to visit again. Oh, Loki did like re-reading a book after a very long time, but it had to be a particularly good one. After all, he knew what was to come, so what would be the point in revisiting? It would not hold the original excitement, the mystery, the pleasure. Loki had seen the advert the day before, just after he had watched the film, for the next one. That they were moving on to romance films and chick flicks. Whatever they were. Loki had figured out how to use the television by now and he had set today’s one to record. He didn’t know why.

Instead, he lay across the length of the sofa, having used some magic on it to make it longer, and opened up a book. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings. Loki had spotted it in the library years ago on a trip to London and had finally decided to read it. However, he heard his door opening and looked up to find Darcy coming in with a bunch of things in her arms. She walked over towards him, looked at him briefly before shrugging and settling herself on his ankles. The nerve of her. Not that she was heavy; he could withstand much heavier weights, but that was beside the point. And yet, he was oddly amused by her daring. He held his book, staring at her until she turned her head.

“So, they’re starting the chick flick season now. Annnd for some reason I thought it’d be a shame to start it without you, so, I’ve brought snacks. Jane gave me the day off since Thor decided to take her out for the day. So, how about it? These films are much better than the ones we’ve watched,” Darcy said. Loki managed to remove his feet from under her and straighten himself out, putting his book down.

“Very well,” Loki said, before Darcy beamed and turned the TV on, and they watched a film called Bridget Jones’ Diary. Loki noticed that Darcy was much more vocal whilst watching this particular film and it was more agreeable to her person, rather than the sadness that rolled off her when watching the tragedies. It was not an unpleasant film and he did particularly like the conflict between the two men. He would have found the woman rather stupid to have gone with the man called Daniel. Once it ended, he heard and felt the changing of Darcy’s position on the sofa.

“So? What did you think? I heard you laughing,” Darcy said, her eyebrows wriggling. Loki shook his head at her expression.

“It was enjoyable; far better than the other ones,” Loki answered.

“Ooooh, then you’re one for romance, eh?” Darcy grinned.

“It at least means someone is having some fortune in their romantic lives; I personally prefer to read it than experience that particular, inevitable heartache,” Loki said.

“So even before you went crazy you weren’t popular with the ladies? Why not?” Darcy asked. Loki raised an eyebrow at her.

“Why not? I was not particularly popular with most; I was always different and a lot of the time the females would look past me and onto Thor,” Loki said impassively. Before Darcy’s little kiss, it had been quite a while since he had experienced anything remotely romantic. Judging by her attitude, she thought no more of it than he did. A simple, heat of the moment action that spoke more of gratitude than anything else.

“Huh. Weird,” Darcy said.

“How so?” Loki asked.

“It’s just, you know, if you hadn’t done all those stupid things, I’d probably be all over you,” Darcy said. “You’re handsome; like, way more than Thor. Sure, he’s cut big time, but I find you more attractive. Just don’t take that to mean I’ve got a crush, I don’t.”

“Hmm. How odd,” Loki responded, but puzzled inwardly over her words. He didn’t know what she meant by ‘cut’, but he assumed it had nothing to do with scars or wounds. Thor hadn’t gotten himself into any such trouble so bad it would leave scars. Even then he probably would have had them healed by now. This mortal found him attractive, when most in Asgard preferred Thor. Loki had courted outside of Asgard, of course; after all, those outside were a little more likable. “Worry not; if you had a crush, then I would certainly have to question your sanity.”

“I’ll book myself into the crazy ward if that ever happens,” Darcy laughed.

“I will make sure to visit,” Loki said. “Perhaps in disguise; would not want you to get excited.”

Darcy laughed some more. “Aww, that’s so sweet,” she said, sarcastically and they both shared a laugh before going silent. Loki had to admit, if only inwardly, that her presence wasn’t unbearable. He was already at that point where he would miss her presence and he cursed himself for that; getting attached. She didn’t even overly _like_ him, considering his actions, and he was plenty glad that she didn’t. Unlike Thor, Loki did not want to make such attachments only for them to die in half a dozen decades, give or take. Darcy stood up. “I should probably go, rather than bother you any further. I’d say we’ll do this again tomorrow, but alas, work calls.” Loki nodded at her, standing up and leading her to the door, opening it.

“It’s been fun,” Darcy said with a smile, before returning to her room. Loki closed the door behind her and looked around his room, before returning to his book.

 

* * *

 

Darcy got out of work the next day at about 5pm and she was ready for some her time. Jane was trying to figure out how to successfully create her Einstein-Rosenbridge thingy so that they could get to Asgard. Maybe even help fix the Bifrost. Though how they would do _that_ she didn’t know. Darcy wouldn’t stress over that; it was not her job. Unlocking her door, she entered and closed it, dropping her stuff by the door before making a beeline for the kitchen. More specifically, the fridge. Something caught her attention before she got to the fridge and she stepped to the counter. A piece of paper with fancy green handwriting on it. Paper? Scratch that; _parchment_. Who the hell used parchment? Unless—

 

_Darcy,_

_I have recorded today’s showing of ‘Maid in Manhatten’, if you wish to view it._

 

_Loki._

Darcy must have stood there blinking at the message for ten minutes, or at least it felt rather long. Loki actually wanted to watch it with her? He had always been the one having his privacy invaded and she had always just watched it regardless of whether or not he actually wanted to. It was just so shocking that he would go out of his way to ask her. Darcy wasted no more time and got some snacks, leaving her room and entering Loki’s. He was sat down on his couch and looked up at her when she entered. Darcy walked over and plonked herself in front of the TV. There was a small part of her that felt like teasing the guy, but she didn’t; quite frankly, whatever this was, she was happy to carry on their film tradition. They watched in silence and when it ended, she could see he had been transfixed.

“Liked it?” Darcy asked.

“It was acceptable,” Loki responded, which made Darcy scoff.

“Whatever man. All I know is that you liked it,” Darcy said. They were silent for a moment. “You know, I was really surprised by your note; I totally thought that you were just tolerating my presence and the films because, hey, big brother could cause some trouble for you, or whatever.”

Loki did not bother to correct her. “It distracts from the monotony of life in this tower,” Loki said.

“Okay, Rapunzel, but you don’t have to stay in your room, you know,” Darcy said.

“I think the last time I exited was enough _excitement_ for the time being,” Loki said dryly.

“That was pretty scary, but you just need to be more careful, that’s all,” Darcy said. “Thor says you’re mortal now, so we would have both been cracked eggs on the sidewalk.”

“Yes,” Loki answered, before going silent.

“Speaking of eggs, is the myth about the eight-legged horse true?” Darcy asked.

“Sleipnir is real, but I am not his mother,” Loki said.

“Aww, that’s a shame,” Darcy said. Loki raised an eyebrow at her. “It was the best myth! And I could totally have a lot to tease you about then.”

“Thankfully he is not my child,” Loki said.

“Hey, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. If the myths are right, you’re a shapeshifter and thus it would be natural,” Darcy said. “It just so happens a number of us mortals would find it strange. I would find it cool.”

“I assure you that Asgardian opinion would not differ much,” Loki said dryly. “In some ways Asgard is more advanced than Midgard, in others not.”

“You don’t have TV; you’re totally cave men,” Darcy joked, which made Loki roll his eyes, but she detected a hint of a smile there. So, he was not completely loyal to Asgard; whether he would be like this before he went bat-shit crazy, she didn’t know, but this was definitely something. “You know, you’re a lot nicer like this.”

“And you are foolish if you think that,” Loki said. Darcy wasn’t sure whether he was just trying to appear tough, but whatever.

“Maybe I am,” Darcy replied nonchalantly.

 

* * *

 

Later that evening, Loki heard a knock at his door. He put aside his book and stood up, walking to the door and opening it to find Thor there. He silently let him in, closing the door and returning to his spot on the sofa. Thor came and sat down on the other end of the sofa and they sat in awkward silence before Thor finally spoke up.

“What happened last week?” Thor asked finally, not having spoken to him properly in a while. He didn’t particularly care; their relationship was strained and mainly one-sided. Thor had high hopes, Loki was quite sure of it, and Loki couldn’t really bring himself to fill them. Still, the oaf could dream if it helped him sleep at night.

“I was ridding the atmosphere of the pollutants…mortal technology is filthy,” Loki responded, picking up his book and finding his page. He missed the look of surprise on Thor’s face.

“That is—,” Thor started, but Loki cut him off.

“Selfish. Perhaps going out of my way will allow me my original form back,” Loki lied seamlessly. Thor frowned, though Loki missed this expression as well.

“If that is so, why would you confess to such?” Thor asked.

“Odin would know regardless,” Loki said, with a shrug. Thor sighed and left Loki to his own devices, not wishing to deal with him anymore today.

 

* * *

 

A month passed and Darcy and Loki had gotten into a routine of watching films Loki would have recorded while she worked, or they watched on a random day Jane would give her off. In the meantime, Thor had been visiting Loki here and there, respecting Loki’s wishes if he didn’t want visitors, but being allowed to the majority of the time. Which was an improvement in his eyes. Thor had spoken with Darcy with regards to Loki’s confession, which surprised her since she had seen Loki tear up. She told Thor exactly what happened and although Thor couldn’t be sure or understand why Loki would attempt to make himself look bad in Thor’s eyes, he was still hopeful. He felt like it was entirely possible that he could have his brother back. Thor had talked to Tony Stark and the removal of the pollutants was definitely useful. Thor felt proud that such progress had been made in his brother; that action was not something he was obligated to do, not really. But he did it anyway. He saved Darcy as well.

Thor sat with Jane in the lounge with Tony, Pepper and Bruce. Thor had his arm around Jane and was smiling down at her. Darcy walked in with Steve, between them holding eight boxes of pizza and many boxes of fries. They put them down on the coffee table between their sofas and also put down various dips.

“Still the extra pizza?” Tony asked.

“Hey, you never know,” Darcy said. “You’ve no idea how awkward it is when someone you thought wasn’t coming turns up and there’s not enough pizza. And it’s not like it goes to waste.” Darcy threw a glance at Thor and Steve. Darcy sat down and opened each pizza. “Okay, that’s Tony’s.” And she started giving them out.

“Well, look at that, looks like Thor and Steve won’t be demolishing the last,” Tony said. Darcy looked up and spotted Loki in the door way. Looking at Thor a moment later, anyone would think that it was his birthday.

“Brother! Come and join us; we have a pizza for you here as well,” Thor said. Loki stepped towards them looking a little unsure of himself and sat down on Darcy’s other side. Darcy handed him the last pizza.

“It’s anchovy and mushroom; Thor said you weren’t a fussy eater,” Darcy said before handing him a box of fries. “There’s some dip on the table if you want it.”

“Oh, drinks, what would you like, Mr. Potter?” Tony asked, ignoring the bored look he received from the green-eyed God. Instead he saw a drink appear in Loki’s hand instead. “Or you can Harry Potter yourself some instead, that’s cool.”

They ate in silence for a few moments, Darcy carefully not looking at him and likewise.

“So, Loki, do you really have an eight-legged horse for a son?” Tony asked.

“No,” Loki replied, exasperated. Luckily for him he missed Darcy’s smirk.

“How about wives or children…?” Bruce asked.

“Nah, do you really think he’d be here alive if he had a wife? No,” Tony said. Loki sighed and shook his head, focussing back on his pizza. He heard Thor laugh and the girl next to him snigger, but otherwise their conversation was blocked out. The thought of having had even one wife was laughable. Two? That was absurd. He finished his pizza and chips, as everyone else had and Pepper stood up to tidy away, but Loki waved his hand and all of the rubbish disappeared.

“Oh! Thank you,” Pepper said. Loki nodded. He sat there and listened as chatter carried on around him, and he noticed that the agents weren’t there. Probably a good thing; he knew from what Thor had told him that Barton was furious that Loki was here and the only reason he didn’t move out was because he’d rather be there to ward off a second attack. Barton thought it inevitable, apparently. Selvig, on the other hand, had upped and left after Jane told him. Loki could not blame him, really. After listening to some of the chatter, he decided to take his leave. He had made an effort here and didn’t particularly fancy anything drawn out.

He ignored Thor’s encouragements to stay and left.


	9. It's not always easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing, not even magic, can undo the pain Loki has caused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read: This chapter contains sensitive topics and although it might be unnecessary for me to add this warning, some might find it necessary. The chapter covers a couple of suicide attempts, nothing graphic, at all, and they are prevented. I have read fics in the past which have had people commenting on a lack of warning or tags, for certain issues and just wanted to give a heads up, just in case. I'm not going to tag this story because it's not really a central theme. 
> 
> I apologise if this is considered a spoiler and unnecessary, but I want to cover my tracks and such.

No matter what he did, Loki couldn’t get that Seven Pounds film out of his mind; it was so horrific and yet, it had struck a chord within him. Loki had tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t. It was what had spurned him on to helping out with the rebuild; he had imagined Thor dragging him out there against his will before that. Loki had found various films to watch or books to read, ones with similar themes that only got him thinking even more. Why was it? Guilt? Loki couldn’t really discern any of his emotions bar that of pain and anger, emotions he kept hold of. Ones he couldn’t seem to get rid of. Instead, he decided to take a trip outside of the tower. Something he’d not done save for the time he fell off the tower with Darcy.

Loki dressed in a Midgardian pair of black trousers and a light blue shirt. He thought it would maybe take away from the fact that he was well-known on Midgard and much hated. For good reasons. Rumours had already flown around about his presence in New York, something that S.H.I.E.L.D. weren’t able to quite stifle. Really, how they expected to keep it quiet forever was beyond him; it would be quite like Thor attempting to sneak into a room without a sound. It was rarely done (or perhaps that was his own little mean jibe). It was about a week since he joined Darcy and her avenging friends for pizza. He had declined last night’s invitation and hadn’t changed his mind afterwards either, but he and Darcy still watched films together. Apparently the next genre they would be showing was horror, and Darcy wanted to boycott those, but Loki had issued her a challenge (something along the lines of calling her a ‘chicken’, as the mortals would put it). Needless to say that got her riled up and ready to watch them with him.

He had the distinct feeling that she was regretting that decision, or would regret it.

It amused him greatly.

Loki exited his room and shut the door quietly, turning towards the entrance to the corridor before hearing a voice as Darcy came out of Jane’s apartment.

“Hey, whoa, where are you off to?” Darcy asked, taking in his attire. Loki put his finger to his lips.

“I am leaving the tower for some part of the day; I do not wish for Thor to hear and make a racket,” Loki said. Darcy’s eyebrows raised and then she nodded, a look of understanding replacing her confusion.

“Yeah, he makes a big deal about _everything_. I hear you. Go, go! Run free, little bobcat,” Darcy said. Loki cocked his head at her with a raised brow. “I’d offer you my company but, ah, well…”

“Our rendezvous’ should remain silent; we would not want you to be accused of sympathising with the enemy and I of having a heart,” Loki said, winking at her.

“H-hey, no, that’s…I mean, we’re not _friends_ , but…” Darcy spluttered. Loki put his finger to his lips again.

“We are just two people watching films together. No attachments,” Loki said. “I wish to be alone on my venture. Have a pleasant day.”

“Alriiighty,” Darcy said cheerfully before she returned to her room. Loki carried on down the corridor and made his way out of the tower. Now, he could have easily exited in a quicker manner of simply transporting himself instantly outside, but he did not wish to startle any potential onlookers; especially since he wanted to be discreet and he did not wish to alarm the tower’s occupants either. No, he didn’t need dragging back to the tower. Loki managed to leave the tower without any fuss; one or two suspicious looks, but at worst he would just have a few people following him supposedly inconspicuously. He hadn’t seen the Black Widow or the Hawk since his return to Midgard. No doubt the Director needed to keep the latter away lest there be an unnecessary incident.

It had been nearly two months since he became an occupant of the tower and he had healed fairly well from his injuries. He still had dark circles under his eyes, but they weren’t quite as bad as before. Loki didn’t particularly care much for his appearance these days. As he walked through the streets, he took in the countenances of the mortals milling through the streets. Some walked by as if he didn’t exist, some stared (not many men had long hair around here, it seemed) and some people looked at him as if they either horribly suspected he was the one who invaded them or _knew_ he had. The latter quickly rushed past, not caring whether they were paranoid or not. Loki walked on as if these reactions hadn’t occurred; he didn’t care for others’ opinions of him as long as he wasn’t shipped back to the tower.

Loki wasn’t really sure where he was going, but he was now quite far from the tower. There was a river nearby and there were very few people around there. Loki spotted a car with a young woman inside, just parked there. The car was on the road, sure, but there was something odd about the situation. He had a bad feeling about this. The woman looked like she was having a conflict of emotions, unsure what to do; either that or she knew what she wanted to do and was just having…second thoughts? Loki contemplated casting a spell so he could hear her thoughts, but he decided against it. Loki had barely blinked when the car suddenly revved and went speeding towards the river. Loki felt his heart rate shoot up and he transported himself into the woman’s car, took hold of her and transported back out in time to see the car crash into the river.

The woman was disorientated for a moment, breathing heavily before she saw Loki and screamed. Loki put his hand over her mouth and kept hold of her arm.

“Quiet, please. No screaming,” Loki said, fumbling for words, which was a strange occurrence for him. He reluctantly pulled his hand from her mouth when she calmed a little.

“Y-y-you…you’re the…the…alien who-who…” The woman cried. Loki held her shoulders, having the decency to look grave. He felt something.

“Why did you attempt to kill yourself? You would have drowned,” Loki asked. The woman started crying, weakly trying to push him away, but he imagined she didn’t care what he might do to her. Not that he would have.

“ _YOU_. You killed him! We had-had just returned from our honeymoon, a-and I was-was lucky that our apartment was-was further out, but his-his office building…one of those metallic things sliced right through his office…all because of _you_. He’s dead,” the woman cried, thumping his chest numerous times in her frustration. Loki stared down at the woman, who was rightfully angry and upset with him. “I can’t…I can’t live without him. I tried. I really did, but I just…” More tears sprung from her eyes and Loki was at a loss for words. She stopped thumping him, only to turn from him and throw up. Loki found himself with one hand clutching her stomach while the other held her hair back.

Loki felt an inexplicable amount of guilt and pain washing over him as he had listened to her. Helpless and unable to live with the pain. He remembered that feeling very well. That very feeling he had felt whilst dangling from the Bifrost, holding onto Gungnir. Loki had felt no comfort in Odin’s words and, despite Thor’s distraught features, he fell. Loki couldn’t take the pain. And here was a young woman who felt the same. Except, Loki was intelligent enough to admit that she was in a far worse state. All because of him. Of course, she wouldn’t fall into the clutches of Thanos and the Other if she had gotten further in her quest for death, but Loki didn’t want anyone else to die. Then he felt something. Something perhaps a little like hope. When the woman straightened up, he summoned a glass of fresh spring water and offered it to her, which she stared at with horror at first.

“Fresh water,” Loki said, weakly.

“H-how…” She asked.

“I possess magic,” Loki answered simply. She seemed to weigh her options before taking the glass and drinking it. Loki knew what she might want next and summoned a pack of those mortal mint sweets. Something he wasn’t overly fond of himself. She took the sweets and ate one in silence for a moment before looking at him.

“I-I can’t…” The woman whispered shakily. Loki shook his head and put his hand back on her stomach.

“You can…you can live on for your unborn child,” Loki told her calmly and as soothingly as he could, though he was sure he was out of practice for such comfort. The woman’s eyes widened and her hands flew to her stomach.

“What?” She gasped. Loki smiled at her a little sadly.

“You are with child; you must have conceived on your honeymoon,” Loki explained. Loki watched her react with shock, sadness and uncertainty. He imagined that she was unsure whether she could cope, but mixed with the feelings of happiness that usually came when one found out that one was with child.

“I don’t know what…” Her voice broke and Loki found himself wrapping his arms around her.

“What is your name? Mine is Loki,” Loki asked softly.

“Ava,” she replied.

“Ava. I know I have caused you much pain, along with many others, and…I am not proud of my actions,” Loki spoke softly, an edge of sadness and regret in his voice. “I have to live with that. As do you, because of me. This child could be the, ah, silver lining? I am not overly fluent in Midgardian sayings. If you do not wish to live for yourself, then live for her.”

“Her? I’m having a daughter…? But it’s too early to tell…” Ava said.

“Not for me; I am not a proper Seer, but I can see a few things, small things…like a small child,” Loki said, softly. He heard and felt her break into more sobs, but he had a feeling that there was a little hope in these ones. Loki felt her pull back and watched as she wiped at her face, tucking her reddish brown hair back away from her eyes. “What will you do?”

“I…can’t kill this child. We will live on, for Ezra…he wouldn’t…he wouldn’t want me to waste my life,” Ava said, calmly and clearly. Loki nodded and gave her a small smile.

“Good,” Loki said. “How about I take you home? You have a lot of preparations, I am sure…do you have friends to assist you?” She nodded. She then sighed.

“There goes my car…I don’t think I’ll be able to afford another,” she said. Loki walked to the railings that separated the pavement from the river and pulled the car out of the river, placing it back onto the road, or perhaps it was the car park. He heard a few yells and screams. People running away. Loki didn’t care. He fixed the railings and returned the car to its dry, natural state.

Loki returned to Ava’s side.

“You really are magic…” Ava said, quietly, before looking at him with an expression of questioning. A little bit of hope. He found his heart aching.

“I am sorry…magic cannot bring back the dead,” Loki said. Ava’s expression fell, but he could see that she hadn’t really expected a positive answer. “Come on, you should go home. It has been a rather trying day for you.” Ava nodded and he realised that she probably would not be able to drive home like this. Loki took her by the arm. “Imagine your home and I will take you. Worry not for your vehicle.” Soon, she was home. They stood in awkward silence for a moment as he wondered what to say. She looked equally unsure.

“Um…look, I don’t really understand…after everything you’ve done, yet today…” Ava started. Loki shook his head.

“I do not need any gratitude; I owe Midgard far more than one life saved,” Loki said, a little tiredly. “I will leave. Help can be found at Stark tower, if you need it.”

Loki left her apartment and made his way back out into the street where he leant against the building and doubled over with his face in his hands.

 

* * *

 

The next day found him wandering around New York again; he supposed being trapped in the tower hadn’t helped any…not that wandering around and looking at the mess you’ve made is any better. Loki felt the old vestiges of himself stirring; he did once have a heart, it was now just…broken. Beyond repair? Loki could honestly not answer as to whether or not he would ever return to his former glory. Did he want to? Return to a life of lies, where your friends weren’t really your friends but his brother’s? And oh, he was not his brother. Loki scowled to himself, sending a bunch of people who must have realised who he was flitting away. How long until some of their law bringers came onto the scene? Director Fury would have less trouble having announced his presence, but the man was a fool.

Loki clenched his fists, the anger bubbling up inside him. There was nothing left for him; no semblance of normality. He couldn’t return to the old days. The days where he was trusted, at least, a lot more than he was now. The days when he wouldn’t have to go around, igniting fear in the hearts of others, and what good was that? Even after these mortals perished, none of his former immortal allies would trust him. Should he find a way out of this punishment and just accept his fate? Accept what he is…a chaos bringer.

He looked up into the skies, eyes stony before they noticed something. Or rather, _someone_. He narrowed his eyes and transported himself, much to the shocked gasps and muffled screams of the onlookers. Loki reappeared atop the ledge of one of New York’s many skyscrapers. A little away was a young man, perhaps in his mid-twenties, looking down over the ledge. Loki cleared his throat quietly, knowing that if he spooked him enough that he fell, Loki could easily pull him back up. The man jolted, but looked at Loki. Loki found no recognition in the man’s face.

“Wha-what…don’t try to stop me!” The man stammered.

“Alright, but why are you here?” Loki asked.

“I lost my daughter. I already lost my fiancée…I can’t…I can’t take it anymore,” the man said. Loki ignored the feeling in his chest.

“In the attack?” Loki asked. The man shook his head.

“We weren’t in New York at the time…we were trying to get treatment in Boston. She had cancer, you see,” the man said, emotion lining his throat. “She didn’t make it, and I just…I have nothing left.” Loki stared at him, surprised that it was not another case against him. It also shocked him how many people contemplated killing themselves; was it really this common? It was tragic, really. Their lives were already so short and yet they would cut them even shorter? Loki knew little about Midgardian lives; sure, he was more aware than that of his b-of Thor, but his knowledge mainly consisted of literature and theatrical exploits. He knew of their cultures of old; of tradition, but not of the modernity. Of the things that truly inflicted them.

“Everyone has something,” Loki said, although he could honestly not say whether he was lying here. Lies were easy; they slipped off his tongue like water from rain clouds. It was so simple to hide behind lies; hides one’s feelings until it was difficult to remember _what_ you felt. “If not, forge a new path. Do not waste your already limited time.” He stared at the man for a few moments.

“And if I can’t?” The man asked, scared. Fear dripped off of him; fear of the unknown. Fear of death. The man was a basket of conflicting emotions; he did not think he could cope with the pain, yet he feared his own demise. Loki held out his hand to him, face serious.

“Then we jump,” Loki said simply. The man looked scared and looked at Loki’s hand before taking it, almost reluctantly. “You appear to lack conviction…do you not want to jump?”

“I-I…why would you…” The man asked.

“I am the one who brought the army here. I am also one of the ones who fixed the city. No one will miss me, but that in itself is a lie,” Loki said, looking up at the sky. Deep down, he knew it was true, but he wasn’t ready to accept it. He looked back at the man. “Except, I cannot jump with you. Not really. If we fell off here now…something would stop us dying, because I cannot hurt you. And now I have your hand; you cannot kill yourself.” Loki actually found himself smiling at him triumphantly, the ghost of mischief back on his face. Relief seemed to wash over the man’s face.

“LOKI! What are you doing?!” A familiar voice rumbled, as Thor landed on the ledge on the man’s other side. The man wobbled and Loki took hold of both of his shoulders, fixing a level stare at the idiot he once called brother. Thor took hold of both Loki and the man, taking them to safety upon the ground before Thor marched Loki away and back to the tower. Thor took him up to the lounge before letting him go. Thor turned to Loki looking rather angry.

“What were you doing?”

“I was attempting to find out why he wished to jump and perhaps prevent it,” Loki answered truthfully. A dark part of him had thought of lying; of twisting Thor’s already negative view of him. He was not entirely sure _why_. “I _had_ just tricked the man into taking my hand. After all, if he still jumped with me attached, it would not work, would it?” Thor looked like he was trying to work out whether Loki was telling the truth. Loki found he was not bothered whether or not he believed him. In the past, he would have. The past was gone; exactly that what could no longer be reached.

“Is this the truth? If I find that man, will he tell me the same?” Thor asked.

“Yes,” Loki said simply. He watched Thor leave and turned to the room, realising it was occupied. How did he not notice? He ignored the inhabitants and returned to his chambers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it. Hopefully that is ok; I realise I am probably not the best portrayer of such issues and hope it's not offended anyone.
> 
> I would like to note, however, that both people Loki assisted aren't going to be instantly 'oh he's a great guy woohoo he saved me' because Loki's a bad man, and one little good doesn't overlook the bad. Ava was in a bad state of mind, and, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised that, no matter what, I wrote it badly, but she's not forgiven him. Sure, she's grateful, but yeah. And I also know that such suicidal thoughts would not easily be put aside in some people and I am not saying they have done that either. Erm, anyway, basically what I'm saying is that I hoped I've handled it relatively well and haven't upset anyone. [:
> 
> I've also decided I'm going to try and fit in the Iron Man 3 plotline. Except fitting in with this fic and, well, we'll see how that goes. 
> 
> In chapter 11, there's gonna be drinking games, like a fusion of truth, dare, kiss and never ever, with the Avengers, Loki, Darcy, Jane, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey and the two OCs from this chapter. Thus, if you have any ideas for truths, dares and/or never evers, THROW THEM AT ME! I will attempt to put them in if I feel I can. :D 
> 
> And last, and the most important part: thank you guys for all of your comments and kudos, they mean a lot to me! You guys are great.


	10. I don't think I deserve it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Darcy have a bit of a heart-to-heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the lovely comments and the kudos! They make me happy. <3 
> 
> Finally got Thor: the Dark World on DVD. And I got the Iron Man trilogy, so I'll be watching the third IM (for the second time since it's been out) to brush up on what happens and try and integrate it into the story. Probably sometime after chapter 12. I will try to integrate Thor: TDW in, but it will obviously be way AU. It all depends whether I can get it to fit, but not sure when that'll come into the story. Probably not for a while.

Thor returned to the lounge maybe half an hour later, finding a number of his friends still within the room. He looked tired and exasperated, to which Tony poured him a tankard (bought especially for him) of beer to take the edge off. Thor dropped into the sofa with his beer and took a long swig of it; in all of the battles and all of the hardships, Thor had never faced such feelings. He worried for his brother, he was angry with his brother and he just didn’t know what to do with himself. Thor realised today that while his brother couldn’t hurt someone, there could be ways around it. His father and his brother were both extremely intelligent, powerful and cunning, Loki perhaps more so than their father, especially now. Who was to say Loki wouldn’t find a way around their father’s punishment? Who was to say Loki wouldn’t regain full use of his powers again? It was terrifying and yet, today gave sign to the potential that his brother was still in there somewhere.

“What happened?” Jane asked, sitting down next to him and placing a hand on his knee.

“Loki, he saved that man’s life; the man was attempting to end his own life and Loki talked him out of it,” Thor said, an air of incredulity in his voice. Jane’s eyebrows rose at that.

“That’s good, right? I mean, it’s…shocking, a little. You know. It means you were right,” Jane said. “There’s still some good left…even if it would take a lot for him to make up for what he did, if he can.” Darcy sat down on the other side of Jane, sipping her drink.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to get his hopes up; doesn’t know how to feel,” Darcy suggested. Thor looked up at both of the girls and nodded.

“It is maddening that my first instinct was one of suspicion; it makes me long for the old days, where the suspicion was for mere little pranks,” Thor explained. Tony sat down on a sofa adjacent to him with a whiskey.

“You know, he was out of the tower yesterday as well. I could try and see where he went,” Tony said. Thor thought it over for a few seconds and shook his head.

“I would rather he tell me himself,” Thor said.

“Good luck with that,” Tony said.

“How are things going with you and Loki by the way?” Darcy asked.

“Fair. We are not really anywhere close to our former relationship, but it is better now than it was when I first brought him here,” Thor responded.

“Hopefully your little stint today hasn’t messed that up, eh?” Darcy teased. Thor chuckled at that.

“It might; Loki knows how to hold a grudge and twist things to his advantage,” Thor said.

“You did say he was nicknamed Silvertongue,” Darcy said. Despite the undercurrent of seriousness in the conversation, Thor felt a little lighter and he finished his beer off before standing up.

“I am going to talk to Loki,” Thor said.

“Good luck taming the wild beast,” Darcy joked. Thor laughed too before leaving the room.

 

* * *

 

 

Loki sat in his room staring at the wall. Despite having grown fond of the films that these mortals had on offer, he had no desire to view one. No desire to read or practice magic as was his favourite pastimes of old. Loki felt the struggle in his chest, a familiar feeling from the time he found out exactly what he was; a monster. He knew his mother…that Frigga meant well, that she accepted him and had loved him as she had Thor, helped him refine his natural talent in magic and even taught him how to fight when he struggled to grasp Odin and Thor’s kind of battle. He was different. And he didn’t know that he would ever feel anything but an ache. Loki was not sure what made him flinch away from the many years that he had known Frigga as his mother; was it that he did not think her such now, or that he did not _deserve_ it? Loki had always been well-aware of his own qualities, be they good ones or bad. However, his good observational skills, his self-perception…he felt his grasp upon it becoming more and more out of reach.

There was a knock on his door and he didn’t look up; it was either Thor or Darcy. Thor had stopped making the door quake as of late and had learnt some sense of his own strength, particularly when it came to Midgard. It was maddening; how was Thor becoming the more thoughtful one while he was seemingly the more irrational one? Fuelled by anger and less of the calculated person he once was. The knocking sounded again, signalling to Loki that he had become lost in his own thoughts.

“Loki, open the door! I wish to talk to you,” Thor called through. “I _will_ break it down if I have to.” An empty threat and they both knew it. Loki’s room was surrounded by magic; it would take Thor quite a while to get in. Loki dropped his head back onto the sofa and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. At least _this_ was familiar. He opened the door with his magic and heard Thor come in, closing the door behind him. It was silent for a few moments as Thor walked further in and sat down on the other side of the sofa.

“Loki, I talked to the man and it appears I was too quick to judge,” Thor said. Loki didn’t move.

“Were you? I really am not in a position of trust here; I am not surprised that you thought I was attempting to defy my punishment,” Loki said, which caused Thor to blink at him. If there was one thing Loki was good at, it was surprising Thor. Thor would think he had Loki’s reactions and ways worked out, then Loki would turn it all around and become unpredictable again. Needless to say, had he been in a better mood, Loki would have smirked triumphantly.

“I thought you would be angry,” Thor stated.

“I just hope that young man does not attempt it again; I did not exactly get to finish what I started,” Loki said.

“Fear not, brother, I explained to him the situation and that if he needed anything, he could visit the tower,” Thor responded. Loki was still not sure _why_ he insisted on referring to him as his brother; he hardly deserved the title. He furrowed his brow then, looking away from Thor. His chest felt uncomfortably tight and he just wasn’t up for anymore interaction.

“Thor, I would really like for you to leave now,” Loki said, as politely as he could without having to say please. He could feel Thor’s eyes on him for a few moments before he felt the sofa shift and heard the sounds of Thor leaving.

 

* * *

 

 

Thor had returned to the lounge somewhat subdued and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that something had happened between the brothers, or at least, Loki had upset him in some way. Darcy decided to leave Jane to comfort Thor, as did Tony, and made her way down to their floor. She walked up to Loki’s door and knocked on it. She knocked a few more times before trying the handle. No dice.

“Loki? Come on, open up,” Darcy said. Nothing. “Don’t be such a baby; let me in.” Nope. There was no using the laser cutters; the walls were sealed with magic as was the door. Maybe she should leave him be? The last time she had pushed her luck with regards to his privacy, it had come with a nice little bite in the form of harsh words and Darcy really didn’t want to go there again. She looked around the corridor for a moment, wondering what to do with herself now. She stepped closer to Loki’s door for a moment.

“Alright, I’m gonna leave you be, but when you do want to leave your bat cave…or, well, watch something, let me know, okay? You’ll be sorry to miss Inkheart; it’s all about books and the beauty of words and for God’s sake, Loki, stop upsetting your brother. He’s trying, okay? He loves you, even though most around here think he’s mental…” Darcy muttered and winced. “Sorry, um, I don’t. Dammit, nevermind, I wouldn’t wanna see me either.” What the hell, brain?!

Darcy tugged at her door before she heard Jane’s voice.

“Darcy, there you are,” Jane said. Darcy turned around and saw that her friend was alone.

“Hey, yeah. Where’s Thor? I thought you two were being all snuggly snuggly,” Darcy said. Jane blushed.

“He and the team were called out for an emergency; it’s nothing too big, but you know,” Jane said. Darcy put her hands on her chest and sighed mock dreamily.

“To have a superhero boyfriend,” Darcy said in a sing-song voice. Jane whacked her on the arm. “Do you want to watch a movie together? Maybe you’ll finally dig the dirt on you and Thor!” More blushes but Darcy pulled her into her room, setting up the film and getting the snacks and drink. “Come on. Have you two hit the bed yet? Just nod or shake.” Long pause, before Jane sighed and shook her head. “No? Why?”

“Oh, nothing bad, we’re just taking it slowly,” Jane said.

“Awww, that’s so sweet!” Darcy said, dodging a whack to the arm. “You know, my arm will fall off if you keep doing that! But seriously, that’s great.”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s not for being not ready or anything, just…well, he admitted to me that he hasn’t had any serious relationships for some time and would like to show me how serious he is by courting me properly,” Jane said, before Darcy burst out laughing.

“Sorry, sorry…’courting.’ Oh my God, it’s like he’s walked out of Arthur’s court or something,” Darcy said. “That’s good though; I could imagine him being a bit of a ladies’ man. Or whatever. He _is_ hot after all. Not that I would go for him or anything, but I _do_ have eyes.”

Jane shook her head at her friend and they both burst into giggles despite themselves. They started watching the film Darcy put in and Darcy felt quite happy.

 

* * *

 

 

About a month passed and no one had seen or heard from Loki, not even Darcy. Considering she saw him far too regularly before to be considered healthy, this meant he must be really upset. Thor had tried a few times over the month to get Loki to open the door and he had not tried to barge in. Thor wasn’t even sure Mjolnir would get him inside. Darcy had tried too, discreetly of course, but no answer. Jarvis had confirmed that he had not left his room when no one was looking. The A.I. did not have video or audio access to the rooms, but motion/heat sensors did confirm that Loki was indeed still alive. Darcy could have sworn she saw a look of disappointment from Barton, but then, maybe she was imagining things. She kind of hoped she was, because sure, Loki had killed people, but wishing him dead in return didn’t make you any better. She wondered how Erik would feel about this; he had taken himself out of Stark tower as soon as he learnt that Loki was to stay here. Darcy couldn’t blame him; he was barely holding onto his own sanity as it was.

Darcy knocked on Loki’s door again, calling out to him and finding, once again, no answer. She frowned, knowing that she couldn’t get in through cutting down the walls or door because it was sealed with magic, but…wait, the ceiling! Maybe that wasn’t protected. Darcy retrieved the laser cutter from her room and went up to the floor above, thankful that the room layouts were all identical. She found the room above Loki’s and was even more thankful that no one was occupying it. Darcy walked to the centre around the sofa and cut a hole through the floor. Then there was getting through the ceiling. _Please let me cut through it._ She then stopped; why was she so bothered? Maybe because Loki’s brother was such a sad puppy right now; not all the time, but every time she saw him return to his room, he looked at Loki’s door with an expression of sadness.

So she tried cutting through the ceiling too. It was difficult to tell, considering it was dark, but once she completed the circle, she put her foot on it and the circle fell. Good. She started lowering herself down.

 

* * *

 

 

Loki had spent the month shut in his room or in the lounge, depending on his mood. He just couldn’t stand to be around anyone and was thankful that his…that Thor had enough sense to do no more than knocking and hollering for him. Then again, Thor knew from past experience to leave him be when he didn’t want company. It was the great difference between the two; Thor was quite happy to be with people all the time, whereas Loki did need some space from time to time, more so sometimes than others. Today, Loki was lying on the sofa reading a book when he saw something fall onto his legs. A circle of ceiling or something. A noise and a squeak brought his attention upwards and he shoved the ceiling stuff and his book to the side as he saw a rather surprising sight.

The legs and lower torso of a feminine variety, and really, she wasn’t wearing the most appropriate attire for breaking and entering. Loki found himself smiling, amused, for the first time in a long while. He did, however, have the decency to lower his gaze from the undergarments of who he would assume was Darcy.

“Dammit, I did _not_ think this through,” Darcy cursed. She kept muttering to herself. “Damn boobs, I could have sworn I cut enough room…seriously, talk about boob-blocked.” Loki considered standing and helping her, but he needn’t have bothered thinking it as a few seconds later she had extricated herself from her position and fallen on top of him, practically straddling his waist. Loki watched her blink, look at how they were positioned and blush. All the while Loki was smiling, amused. It took her a few more moments of looking from his face to herself before blushing even more and whacking him on the chest.

“Oh, I bet you got a good look, you pervert,” Darcy said, annoyed, but he didn’t think she was truly sincere in her aggravation. He put his hands on her thighs, still smiling.

“Admittedly I did get a rather nice view, however, I assure you that I looked away as soon as the shock quickly washed away,” Loki replied. Darcy just stared at him, narrowed eyes, probably trying to work out his sincerity.

“I’ll believe you this time, since I’m feeling generous _and_ I broke in again…so, uh, I guess you deserve something for the invasion of privacy,” Darcy said. She whacked him again. “But you have been worrying Thor! Why are you locking yourself away and not letting anyone talk to you…well, Thor, and I guess me. I don’t think anyone else has tried…seriously, why?” Darcy asked, pushing his hands away and managing to stand herself up without too much embarrassment.

Loki sat up and brushed a hand through his hair, which was a little longer now and less flicky. He felt the sofa dip where she sat down and he turned to her with a guarded expression. “It…is complicated. I’m not even sure how to describe it, nor whether I really…care to,” Loki murmured. Silence for a few moments.

“You don’t have to talk to me about it, and I guess not to Thor either, I mean, you probably _should_ talk to Thor. He is your brother, no matter what you say, and he still cares for you. Isn’t that enough? Thor told me you weren’t related by blood, but…that doesn’t matter. I have a good friend who was adopted and they told her when she was about eighteen, which is a fairly normal time, but she really didn’t care. Why do _you_ care? Adoption is way better than some things. Like, your mom and dad chose to raise you despite not being theirs biologically. They chose to raise you even though they knew there could be problems, like, some children when they’re adopted after they are out of the baby stage can be kinda problematic. Yet parents still adopt them and love them. I just…sorry, I know it’s nosy, but I’m just trying to say that, regardless of what you’ve done, you still have a guy out there wanting to be called brother again,” Darcy said. Loki was staring straight ahead, unsure of how to answer her exactly. It wasn’t quite that simple, though he didn’t know how much she knew about his adoption.

“What did Thor tell you, exactly?” Loki asked.

“Not much, just that you were taken in as a baby and not biologically his brother,” Darcy said.

“I am not just an orphan; I was abandoned and left to die, on Jotunheim, home of Frost Giants. All because I was small for a Frost Giant,” Loki explained.

“I’ve heard of them. That’s harsh, though. I mean, you’re pretty giant to me,” Darcy said, joking weakly. Loki’s lips twitched.

“They are usually far taller than me; even Thor would barely be taller than their waist,” Loki said. “They are a monstrous race; they nearly wiped out Midgard over a millennia ago.”

“Ahh, so it’s also that. You grew up hating the Frost Giants only to find out you are one…that’s kinda messed up,” Darcy said. “So is that what this month of locking yourself away is about?”

“Not specifically,” Loki murmured. Darcy looked at him.

“Loki, I know we’re not friends or anything, heck, I’m not really sure why I have been hanging around with you as much as I have. Apart from that one time, which was admittedly not faultless on my half, you’ve been quite decent to me, which is odd because, well, you’ve done all of those shit things…anyway, look, I’m willing to hear you out. Even if a mere mortal’s opinion and words don’t mean anything, they say getting it off your chest really helps,” Darcy said. Loki stayed silent and was glad that she seemed to acknowledge that he needed the moment.

“I have turned into the monster Thor and I grew up hearing about and I am not sure that I really deserve to have Thor call me brother,” Loki murmured quietly. He swallowed. “I am not sure that I can truly return to being his brother; and then there are moments when I do not want to let go of the anger. Of all of the hatred and betrayal.”  Darcy was quiet a moment before answering.

“There’s more to this story,” Darcy stated. She looked at him and saw his eyes. “But you’re not ready to disclose that, are you? That’s okay.”

“Loki, can I ask you something?” Darcy asked.

“You already are,” Loki said, a slight playful undertone to his words, but there was no enthusiasm. He saw her expression. “Yes, you may.”

“Are you sorry for your actions?” Darcy asked. Loki looked at her and then looked at the ceiling. It was not something he wanted to answer, but he sighed, knowing he had to. He knew he wouldn’t have her company anymore if he didn’t.

“Yes,” Loki said, tiredly. Darcy looked at him for a few moments.

“Then that’s all that matters; I think…someone who is at least sorry and is attempting to make amends in his own way deserves to call Thor brother. Not many are like him; he has hope for you and will probably forgive you in time,” Darcy said. “How about this: provided you don’t fall into the deep end again, we can be friends. I know that’s not much, considering it’s me, but you haven’t got many other options right now, hm? Though I won’t take any bullshit of you trading me in when−.” Loki’s hand had gone over her mouth and he shook his head.

“Friends. I would…like to try that. I…am not sure…whether I can trust−,” Loki started, oddly stumbling over his words.

“Hey, man, it takes two. We’ll get to know each other and trust will come in time,” Darcy said. “Fear not my villainous friend.” Loki lightly glared at her to which she winked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Return of the laser cutter! Sorry Loki, Darcy's creative and smart. Does this mean the ceiling will be magically shielded now? Well, now, you're just giving Darcy a challenge. She'll find a way. Sorry Loki. You like it really.
> 
> Anyway. XD 
> 
> I'm still looking for suggestions in regards to the truth/dare/never evers so keep them coming! I can't promise I'll be able to use them, and you can suggest however many you like! 
> 
> And on that note, it might be a little while until the next update. Hopefully not too long, obviously. <3


	11. And subtle things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What better way to get to know each other more than taking part in some drinking games? 
> 
> Loki was in for a loooong night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a late update, but this chapter was rather...difficult. I found I regretted promising a drinking games chapter, because I just don't think I'd write a very good one. The dares and so on are probably a bit lame. I do apologise in advance for that. XD Also, I cut out Happy and Rhodey (well, hopefully. If there are mentions of them do point them out XD).
> 
> Also a very long chapter, at least by my standards! Nearly 6000 words. Blimey. 
> 
> I had meant to this this from the start, but better late than never! Thanks for all of your kudos and thanks to AdolescentKid14, MistressofLoki, kerukeru, Flora, jenefaner, superwholocked23, Shadows_of_Shemai, hquinzelle, marshmallowdeviant, Jnotjane, Reneemm, keru, miravisu, ChargerWarrior, mohawkbaby, Heather, Kat and Angela for all your wonderful comments! They mean a lot and make me happy. :D

About two weeks passed and Loki had not denied visitation to Thor or Darcy, which was a bonus. Darcy could tell the big blond giant was so much happier and even Loki seemed a little more amicable. A little. Sometimes it was difficult to tell when the moody Prince was happy. The day after they resolved the minor conflict (if you could call it that), S.H.I.E.L.D. had decided it was finally time to announce to the world officially that Loki was on Earth, considering there had been a few sightings and plenty of youtube videos that kept being uploaded, deleted by S.H.I.E.L.D. and then re-uploaded of the God wandering about New York and generally causing disturbance. Loki had even got up and made a speech, which had not been part of the plan, but turned out to be far better than their original intention.

Thus the last two weeks had been both good and stressful, and quite frankly Darcy was looking forward to a reprieve. It was the day before Halloween and Darcy absolutely loved the day. She knew Tony was throwing a costume party for the fun of it and she really couldn’t resist the chance to be childish. She had been going on and on about it with Loki for a few days now and yet couldn’t really get him into the mood of it. She knocked on his door and entered when she heard him respond, plopping herself down onto the couch as always.

“Soooo, come on, tell me why you won’t go to the party? Thor’s looking forward to joining in on a new custom. Hell, you can come dressed as yourself; let’s face it, you’re the perfect character to dress up as,” Darcy joked. She looked over in time to see him narrow his eyes, but she merely swung herself around so that her head lay on the armrest and her legs lay in his lap. “You knoooow it’s true. Once you accept that, in your heart…” Darcy stopped, because Loki’s face was stormy and he pushed her legs from his lap. Darcy straightened up and frowned at him, having been joking and he _knew_ her well enough by now to know that. The guy was terrifyingly good at reading people, most of the time. However, before she could object, he had her pinned down into the sofa in an uncomfortable manner.

“Loki, what the hell−,” Darcy started before his hand clamped over her mouth.

“Why do you _mock_ me? Humour regarding my criminal status I can handle, and even find humour in myself, but to _mock my words_?” Loki hissed, looking every bit the deadly God of Menace he had been referred to as on more than one occasion. Darcy gulped, not knowing what on Earth he was referring to. She moved away from his hand.

“Mock your words? I wasn’t doing anything of the sort!” Darcy said. “I was just joking around!” He seemed to shift, but nothing seemed to change. She realised that he had likely aimed to make her uncomfortable, but couldn’t due to Odin’s wonderful seal upon him. It didn’t stop her being scared out of her mind. The last time she had been this close to him, she had kissed him and that was only out of sheer gratitude and adrenaline.

“ _Once you accept that, in your heart…you will know peace_ ,” Loki hissed. Darcy blinked.

“I didn’t even finish, how did you…” Darcy stammered, still not knowing what he was talking about. He moved his hand ever so slightly, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. She knew what he had wanted to do. Her heartbeat could not possibly go any faster.

“They were my words from my time here…when I first came through the portal. Obviously you have seen the footage and wanted to take your mockery to the next level,” Loki spat. Darcy shook her head as best as she could; she only knew what she had been told by the Avengers and even then, no such quotes. Sure, there was the odd joke thrown around the team in regards to something about Loki wanting people to kneel and then a rather crude comment about Loki needing to get laid, but this was _ridiculous_.

“I swear to you, I swear an oath…I’ll write it in blood…that I haven’t seen any video footage from your attack here other than the Hulk smashing you, and I hadn’t wanted to see it, Tony’s pretty damn obnoxious like that. Loki, I swear, I’m your friend; friends don’t try to use friends’ words against them. I was joking about your villainous past as we would normally do and if I went too far, ju-just say it. You don’t need to-to threaten me,” Darcy whimpered, tears falling from her eyes and after a few moments she felt his weight recede.

Darcy breathed in deeply, relief washing over her as she tried to stem the tears; even knowing that there was some enchantment to stop him hurting her didn’t make her feel any safer. She couldn’t stop the tears and she placed her hands over her face, trying to calm her breathing and stop the emotion surging inside of her. The sofa was shifting a little, but she didn’t care. Then she felt hands curling around her wrists as they were pulled away from her face to reveal Loki’s startling green eyes. She’d never seen the emotion in them before; the sadness.

“Darcy, I…I am sorry, I believe you…” Loki said, clearly lost for words. Something she imagined didn’t come often to him. Loki pulled away to give her space and she quickly sat up and got onto her feet, stepping away from him.

“You can’t _do_ that to friends! To anyone! If you’re upset, use your _words_. Thor said you had been the more rational one and yet,” Darcy stopped, rubbing her face with her palms. “Maybe you need to see a doctor or just _talk_ to someone about your issues, because there is so much more you’re not telling me or Thor. Words and threats _hurt_ even if you can’t actually physically harm me.” Without another word, she left and Loki sat there looking guilty.

Loki knew there was plenty wrong with him, but he didn’t want to talk to anyone about it. He would certainly not talk to some stranger about his problems and he didn’t really fancy talking to Thor either. Darcy…he wasn’t so sure yet. They’d been friends for two weeks, and he didn’t know whether that was at an end right now. He dropped his face into his hands as he cursed his temper and himself for getting attached. This was not what he had planned; he wasn’t supposed to get close to anyone. It was clearer now that he was like the sun in those metaphors; get too close and you were likely to burn up.

And he found he didn’t want Darcy to burn.

 

* * *

 

All Hallows Eve soon came around and Darcy had quite deliberately pushed the Loki issue to the back of her mind as she got ready for the party. She wore a long, gothic dress with flaring sleeves and a low cut on her cleavage. It had a bit of red colouring here and there, and she used white face paint to make her even paler than she already was. Her hair was styled in ringlets and she had red eye make-up on and red lipstick. Then Darcy applied a fake slash to her throat with red lip liner and fake blood, also applying fake blood to her mouth for the full effect. Darcy was quite happy at the arrangement and, when the party started, she headed up to the lounge and found it in full swing. There weren’t a lot of guests so the space was perfect.

Oddly enough, she found herself looking around for a familiar dark-haired Prince, but he wasn’t there. Darcy shook away the feeling of disappointment; she should _not_ be feeling disappointed in him not being there. He was a threatening psycho. Dammit Darcy. Darcy inwardly shook herself before getting herself a drink and walking over to who she assumed was Thor from his size.

“Thor?” Darcy asked. Thor turned to her with a big grin and she could see that he was wearing a costume of how he was often depicted in mythology. “Don’t you look…uhhh…I’d say handsome, but given I want to laugh, I don’t think that’s appropriate.” Thor laughed.

“I have taken the time to read some of the myths, and they are rather humorous,” Thor said. Jane came over with drinks and handed one to Thor. Jane had dressed up like a witch, just without the green face paint. Jane smiled when she saw Darcy.

“You look amazing, Darce,” Jane said.

“As do you,” Darcy said. She looked around some more; Steve was there in a zombie soldier outfit, which was rather impressive, Bruce was Frankenstein’s monster, Natasha was Cat Woman and Clint looked unhappy dressed as Legolas. Tony, dressed in a werewolf costume, walked over to her with a smug grin on his face.

“Clint looks happy,” Darcy said dryly.

“He lost a bet and now he has to dress the part. It was either that or Katniss,” Tony said. Darcy burst out laughing. Tony looked at Thor. “No sign of your brother? I would have thought this would be his scene.”

“I am unsure of his plans; he was rather unhelpful in his answers,” Thor said. Darcy wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or… _shut up Darcy_.

An hour into the festivities, Darcy noticed they had a few new guests. One was a Grim Reaper and he led a man and a woman into the party. The man was dressed like Beetlejuice and the woman was dressed like a vampire. Darcy walked up to them with a wave.

“Hey! Happy Halloween! I’m Darcy!” She said cheerfully.

“Hello…I do not believe I need an introduction,” the voice joked weakly and Darcy realised it was Loki. She blinked at him.

“Nice duds. Ever so slightly controversial there,” Darcy teased.

“Indeed…listen, are we…I am truly sorry for yesterday,” Loki said quietly.

“You owe me, big time, but I’ll let it slide this once,” Darcy said.

“You are very kind, thank you,” Loki said. He looked briefly to his companions. “These are Leo and Ava, the two I, uh…”

“He helped us through a tough time,” Leo interjected. It clicked. They were the two Loki stopped from killing themselves.

“Leo had invited me to a Halloween party on my visit to check up on him yesterday and I had also requested an invite for Ava, but, well, the party ended up not happening so I brought them here,” Loki said. Darcy nodded, smiling at Ava and Leo.

“It’s nice to meet you. Are you guys doing alright?” Darcy asked sympathetically. Ava gave her a small smile. Loki wandered off towards Thor, which surprised Darcy, but nonetheless made her happy; the two needed to stick together.

“Not bad…as I can be, anyway. It’s still difficult, and though the wish to…” Ava trailed off, but Darcy nodded, understanding. Stopping a suicidal person once didn’t mean those feelings to do so disappeared as well. “…has gone, I just…” Ava looked over at where Thor was clapping his brother on the back merrily. “It’s hard, you know? I don’t know what to think of Loki; he’s responsible for my husband’s death, and yet…he saved me from killing mine and Ezra’s unborn child…”

“Completely understandable, and I haven’t really found out his reasoning from his own mouth, I mean, he told Thor something during the terror, but he’s completely different now. Has he told you his exact punishment?” Darcy asked. Ava and Leo nodded. “I think a few of us thought it was unfitting; that it was too easy. But the thing is, Loki’s immortal and the rules are different. Here on Earth, Loki would be considered unable to be rehabilitated, but on Asgard, well, they must know there’s a chance he can be. And we’ve already seen a few good instances from him. I’m not sure he can ever make up for all of the lives cost, but maybe he can become a better person. If he doesn’t, he’ll die a human death. He saved me once, and even though it might have been that he’d have to, he actually shed tears saying that he didn’t want anyone else to die because of him. It seemed like the truth to me.” Ava and Leo took that in, and Darcy gestured for them to walk over to the drinks bar, getting them all a drink.

“He has checked up on me a couple of times and seemed solemn. I can’t forgive him, but I won’t shun him,” Ava said. Darcy smiled at her. She looked at Leo.

“How about you?” She asked. Leo sighed.

“It…I’m still struggling, I mean, I am reaching out to my friends and they’re doing the best they can, but…” Leo answered. Darcy nodded and rubbed his shoulder.

“One step at a time. If you feel the urge to try again, try to ring us first. Which reminds me, Loki needs a cellphone,” Darcy said. She blinked and then looked at Ava. “Oh! Congrats on the baby, I got so caught up…do you know what you’re having yet?”

“A baby girl; apparently Loki can sense the gender already,” Ava said.

“Yep, Loki’s magic mojo,” Darcy said. The music changed and it became a slow song. She saw Tony take Pepper, who had dressed up as a sexy nurse (she wondered whether she’d lost a bet too) into the middle where they started dancing. Then Thor and Jane followed them. They looked very sweet together. Heck even Clint was dragging Natasha onto the floor…Darcy looked closer and saw that Natasha wasn’t impressed and she had the distinct feeling he had drank far too many whiskeys.

Loki walked back over to the three of them and stood there after getting himself a drink. His hood faced Leo and Ava. “Perhaps you two should join them,” Loki said in a friendly tone. Leo and Ava looked at each other before Leo held out his hands, which she took nervously and they joined the middle as well. Darcy refreshed her drink and drank it quickly before getting another. She then noticed that Loki’s hood was pointing at her.

“Hope you’re not perving from in there, hm?” Darcy said.

“I assure you that I am respectful, even if my past actions count against me,” Loki said. Darcy sniggered and bumped shoulders with him, or at least, as best as she could with the giant next to her.

“I believe you, this one time,” Darcy teased. “Soooo, you and Thor getting along better?”

“Unfortunately,” Loki said, exasperated.

“You’re such a mean little brother,” Darcy said. He chuckled.

“In all seriousness, I think it is just difficult to comprehend that he has not given up on me; I would have given up on him, were it the other way around,” Loki explained.

“You’re just two different people; it sounds like you have more trust issues with people, and given what I know about you, well, there’s not much surprise there. You just…gotta let people in sometimes, you know? ‘Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved before’ is one of our many sayings, this one a little more knowledgeable at least,” Darcy said.

“Perhaps, though we shall see,” Loki said.

 

* * *

 

They stood there and chattered for a while, watching the dancers and Darcy managed to get in a few more drinks to the point where she was tipsy. Here and there she would go off and talk to the others, but end up coming back to stand with him. It was odd and never had they been so open with their acquaintance, though he surmised it was easily passed off. However, he found that there would be a time when it all came out. After all, his slight change in behaviour did come down to the wonderful distractions of his newfound friend, even if they were rather bothersome at first. Despite everything he had done, Darcy’d had the nerve to keep pestering him and keep coming back. They’d overcome two obstacles now, both created by him. Of course, she had at some point apologised for her invasion of privacy, but her creativity did indeed amuse him (even if he didn’t admit that to her) and he assured her that he could have handled it better. Now, the silly girl was halfway towards inebriation and he had only really dealt with Thor, Volstagg and Fandral drunk before. He refilled his own glass of red wine, which was not all that bad for a Midgardian beverage, and watched as his young friend went off to play some sort of drinking game with Stark, Barton, Romanov and even Thor. Others soon joined them and he noticed the appearance of Thor’s woman beside him.

“Dr. Foster,” Loki said curtly. He suddenly felt ridiculous in his costume. “I trust you are having a nice evening?”

“Yeah, it’s quite a party. I’m not really used to it. Anyway, I didn’t come over here to chat; I noticed you hanging around Darcy and I have a sneaking suspicion that this isn’t your first socialising with her,” Jane said, surprising astute. He raised an eyebrow even though it was pointless.

“What makes you say that?” Loki asked curiously.

“A number of months ago she was upset, having been mocked for her status as an intern,” Jane said. “The only person I could think of that could rip into someone like that was you, though I couldn’t be certain.”

“Very good, you are a little more observant than I had thought,” Loki smirked. His smirk dropped in seconds, however. “I was in a bad mood, though it excuses nothing. We have since made amends.” _And have since had my temper unleashed on her again, but you need not know that._

“If you ever hurt her, then I swear to all that is out there that you’ll be the one who’s hurt,” Jane said. Loki nodded with an unseen smirk; Thor’s woman was feisty and he found he liked her.

“I have no intentions of further hurting her,” Loki replied. He watched her seemingly weigh his words before relaxing a little.

“Good,” Jane said, before they were left in a somewhat awkward silence. He hadn’t really spoken to her before now and it was rather amusing to him that this would be the subject of their first conversation. If he were to become immortal again and if she were granted immortality, then it would certainly make for an interesting new era. The future Queen of Asgard; a seat that will likely not fall to some air-headed, spineless female who needed to be rescued. Of course, he did not know her that well and from Darcy’s talk of her, she could become rather bashful, but that was not a sign of weakness.

“Loki! Jane! Come and share with us this grand Midgardian game of drinking!” Thor boomed merrily. Loki rolled his eyes and reluctantly followed Jane after some hesitation. Loki noticed that most of the guests had sauntered off home, leaving the Avengers, Jane, Darcy, Pepper, Ava and Leo.

Loki sat on one of the armchairs and there was some shuffling and squeezing to accommodate all eleven people. Darcy threw herself onto the arm of his own armchair and he used his magic to lengthen the two sofas. Darcy seemed to end up half leaning against him and he made the armchairs a little wider, causing her to fall a little. She hit him in the arm.

“You ass!” Darcy said playfully, to which he smirked.

“Sooo we are playing Truth, Dare, Kiss and Never Ever…no order, choice is yours and get your drinks ready!” Tony said. “Unless you have a legit reason, alcohol for everyoooone!”

“Er, I don’t want to risk the other guy−,” Bruce started.

“Hey, don’t worry, if he pays a visit, we’ll direct him towards his green-eyed friend over there,” Tony joked.

“And I will direct him to all of your most cherished possessions,” Loki threw back at him smoothly and playfully. Tony made a childish show of horror.

“You’re evil!” Tony gasped. Loki held his hands out.

“Hence why I am here,” Loki smirked.

“Knock it off you two, this is the most boring drinking game ever if you carry on,” Natasha said.

“Oh, yeah, right. This is what, your five hundredth?” Tony said.

“Just start the game,” Natasha said.

“Let’s start with a never ever. I have never...crossdressed or shapeshifted into a woman,” Tony said. He watched as both Thor and Loki took a swig of their drinks; Tony burst out laughing. “Seriously?! I was just messing! Tell us the story!”

“I am a shapeshifter; I have taken on many forms. However, Thor has only done so once and it was at a loss of a bet with his friends. We were both to become females and help Princess Freya get out of her awful marriage,” Loki responded. “I did suggest that Thor be shapeshifted, but he found it rather too strange.” Thor looked a little embarrassed while a number of people around the table laughed good-naturedly.

“That’s hilarious,” Tony said. Loki felt the poke to his cheek and turned to see Darcy looking mischievous.

“I dare you to turn into your female form for half an hour!” Darcy grinned. Loki chuckled and shifted forms. He wore a form-fitting Asgardian dress, he was quite slim and pale as usual, his face became more feminine and yet kept the familiarity that distinguished him as Loki and his long black hair was straight and kept to waist-level. “Damn, those cheekbones are killer even as a female!” Loki merely raised an eyebrow at her.

“I dare you to flirt with Jarvis,” Loki said to Darcy. Darcy looked mildly shocked. “Or are you not daring enough?” Darcy jumped off of the sofa and marched over to the nearest Jarvis console. Loki could see a little tremor of nerves run through her.

“Hey there, Jarvis,” Darcy said.

“Good evening, Miss. Lewis. How can I be of service?” Jarvis asked.

“You’re looking good tonight, Jarvis. Is that a new haircut?” Darcy asked. “Because it _really_ suits you.”

“Very good, Miss. Lewis. Tony hadn’t even noticed and I had wondered whether I should have bothered at all,” Jarvis responded, taking her words into stride apparently.

“I was wondering, since you’re such a handsome fellow, if you would like to go to dinner tomorrow night?” Darcy asked.

“I’m afraid dating is beyond my capabilities, Miss. Lewis; I have to make sure Tony doesn’t get himself killed and it is a 24/7 kind of job,” Jarvis responded.

“Hey!” Tony said, mock indignantly.

“Might I recommend to you Steve Rogers?” Jarvis suggested.

“Aww, that’s a shame, maybe another time, eh?” Darcy said.

“Anything for you, Miss. Lewis,” Jarvis said. Darcy returned to her seat, blushing a little from Jarvis’ recommendation. She could see Steve was too. Loki smirked at her and she elbowed him. “Oh, shut up; how the hell do you flirt with an AI anyway, no matter how intelligent…”

“I have never been to Asgard,” Tony said. Loki and Thor drank up.

“I have never worn armour,” Clint said. “And the suit counts, Tony.” Tony, Thor and Loki drank.

“I’ve never used a bow and arrow, or crossbow,” Tony said. Clint, Thor and Loki drank.

“I tried it once but I could not quite work it, nor was it for me,” Thor said merrily. “Loki is a good shot.” There was more to that story.

“Shot you in the ass?” Darcy asked.

“Foot; he had been amused by those Greek mythologies,” Thor said.

“He did not fall,” Loki said in mock disappointment.

“I have never peed in my armour,” Pepper said. Tony shook his head at her before drinking.

“Miss. Potts, kiss Ava,” Loki smirked. Tony glared at him. Pepper kissed Ava on the cheek. Tony relaxed.

“Loki, I dare you to sit in Steve’s lap for ten minutes stroking his hair,” Tony said.

“Wow, we’re all such children,” Clint quipped. Loki stood up and sat in the good Captain’s lap, running his hands through his hair while the soldier turned a little pink.

“This is wrong on so many levels,” Steve said. “Fine, Tony, I dare you to wear a pink bonnet and skip around these sofas five times singing I feel pretty.”

“This better not get on youtube,” Tony said, and Loki magicked the most horrifyingly pink and girly bonnet onto his head before the Iron Man took a long drink and carried on with his sentence. He didn’t see Pepper get her phone out and record him. Loki smirked. Darcy came and took a picture of Steve and Loki, who unashamedly made it look worse by having his face so close to Steve’s and puckering his lips, though they did not touch Steve.

“This is going on my lock screen,” Darcy said, returning to her seat. Once Tony sat down, took the bonnet off and took a long swig of his drink he turned to Bruce.

“I dare you to wear this next; for half an hour,” Tony said, throwing it at the doctor.

“It’s not really my colour,” Bruce said.

“It’s not mine either; forfeit is a frilly dress to match!” Tony said. Bruce put it on and Tony took a picture.

“I have never worn a bonnet,” Clint grinned. Tony and Bruce drank to that.

“I dare you to dress up as Merida!” Tony grinned. Clint’s grin fell into a scowl. Tony looked to Loki. “Magic man, er, woman?”

“Who is this Merida?” Loki asked. Tony typed something on his phone and showed it to him. “Aha. If it is any consolation, Thor has courted a woman with much bigger hair.”

“Shut up, brother,” Thor said.

“I do hope you are not passing yourself off as a virgin to Dr. Foster; that would be like saying Stark is poor,” Loki said. Tony laughed.

“Nice one,” Tony said.

“Jane knows very well that I have had plenty of relationships,” Thor said.

“Do one time flings count as a relationship?” Loki asked.

“Yes, she knows that too, do you want a hammer to the head?” Thor asked playfully.

“It all depends whether you can actually hit me,” Loki said.

“Uhh, please don’t; I’m right here,” Steve said. Loki had shifted back to his form and Steve was even more uncomfortable. “Hmm. Since we’re being rude and inappropriate, I have never had sexual relations with anyone.”

“Just say sex,” Tony said, mock exasperation. Everyone but Steve and Darcy drank. “Okay, clearly you two need to bang.”

“Not that he isn’t hot, but I’m not that type of girl,” Darcy said, pointing at Tony. “I still don’t see what Pepper sees in you.” She was joking.

“It’s because of how lovable I am−,” Tony said at the same time that Pepper said. “It’s the money.” Tony looked at Pepper, who had a playful smile on her face.

“Maybe I’ll give it all away,” Tony said.

“You’ll take it back five seconds later,” Pepper said. “Besides, it’s not the money.” She reached over and they kissed.

“Come on, everyone drink some shots,” Tony said, going over to the bar and bringing over a tray of shots. He gave one to each of them except Ava, to whom he gave a shot with juice in it. “I expect you back on alcohol once junior’s out, ok? That get out of jail free card only works so much.” He winked at her before going over to the bar and bringing back even more drinks. Loki was back in his seat and everything seemingly normal. Of course, that was only the beginning.

“I’ve never had sex whilst in full armour, costume or gear,” Natasha said. Tony drank, as did Thor and Loki.

“I’ve never nearly had sex in public,” Pepper said. Tony drank up.

“I have this wonderful notion that I’m being picked on,” Tony said.

“You are. I’ve never worn Tony’s iron man suit, the red and gold one,” Natasha said, making Tony drink up again.

“I’ve never been called Tony Stark,” Darcy laughed. Tony drank and glared.

“I’ve never needed glasses!” Tony said. Bruce and Darcy drank to that.

“I have never had sex in my parents’ bed,” Pepper said. Tony, Thor and Loki drank up to that. Thor shot a look of incredulity at Loki.

“We were feeling particularly daring, as you must have too,” Loki said.

“Yes, but…I thought we were not your family?” Thor asked. Loki’s smirk dropped as he realised his slip.

“Damn,” Loki said, whilst Thor grinned.

“I’ve never had sex in a sibling’s bed,” Tony said. Loki drank and Thor grimaced.

“Lokiii,” Thor groaned.

“You did not seem to notice; the sheets were not even cleaned before you slept in it again,” Loki said with a shark grin on his face. Thor drank a whole lot of beer to that.

“I have never used magic,” Thor said, making Loki drink. “I have also never had black hair!” Loki drank too.

“All these blatantly obvious ones are boring!” Tony said. “I’ve never had any form of sex involving Thor’s literal hammer being in some way used.” Thor drank, as did Loki, which made Thor spit out his drink.

“How in Yggdrasil did…” Thor spluttered.

“You remember that time when I was fifty and you were fifty-two, we had a great row and you pinned me to the floor with Mjölnir on my chest, then left me there for some time? Effyr found me, she attempted to free me and, well, one thing led to another and we had a rather awkward, yet satisfying time together,” Loki said. “We managed to clean up before you returned and she left too.”

“She was an odd one,” Thor commented.

“Much better than Ambrose,” Loki said.

“Shut up,” Thor said shortly.

“About Ambrose?” Loki asked innocently, and Thor grimaced.

“Tell us about this Ambrose,” Tony said, grinning. Thor sighed.

“At first she was perfectly normal. Perky and very friendly, but over time she started changing my room. Loads of pictures, of her, us, her little animals…her stuffed toys…then she changed my bed sheets to her favourite colour, pink, along with the bed curtains. Her stuffed toys were then present in my bed, insisted I used her feminine cleaning products, and so much more. Ambrose became obsessed and started wondering where I had been, worried I had been cheating and she even started stalking me. I knew not how to handle such strange behaviour and eventually I had to end it,” Thor explained.

“Wow…okay, yeah. You do on occasion get people like that…sounds like she’s from a movie, though,” Tony laughed. “Anyone else have any stories about crazy exes?”

“One of mine tried to kill me and take over Asgard,” Loki said.

“Were you dating yourself?” Tony asked. Loki rolled his eyes.

“Her name was Angrboda,” Loki said.

“Your wife?” Tony asked.

“I am not and have never been married,” Loki responded dryly.

“How boring,” Tony joked. Loki leant his head back on the sofa. This was going to be a long night.

 

* * *

 

Sometime well after 6am the party headed back to their rooms for some much needed sleep and sobering up, Ava and Leo offered a guest room each. Part of Loki, and he found it to be an alarmingly miniscule part, wanted to go straight back to his room and not cause any further suspicion of the relationship between himself and Darcy. But had Darcy not firmly stuck herself to him, he would have assisted her regardless. He found that she was giggly, suffered from a higher tone of voice and was too uncomfortably touchy-feely for his liking. Darcy had one arm wrapped around his own arm and her other hand stroking his chest/stomach.

“Soooo gla-glad you not got your leathery armoury thingy on; it hot, but I can…it is softer, ya know?” Darcy slurred. “Weeell, not _soft_ but firm…you not like Thor with big, biiig muscle, but you still cut, ya know?” Then she threw back her head and giggled/laughed. They stopped at the elevator. Loki pushed the button, but saw that it was at a standstill. Darcy giggled into his shoulder.

“Tony and Peps having it onnnn,” Darcy slurred merrily. Loki knew enough Midgardian slang by now to know what that meant. Loki tried to turn her towards the stairs, but she was giggling too much. “Noooo, we will wait and…there is no rush!”

“Darcy, you must go to bed; sleep off this ridiculous drunk stupor you have fallen into,” Loki said. He didn’t want to transport her lest she become ill; he had seen the effects it’d had on Thor in the past, never mind a _mortal_. Loki sighed and removed his arm from her grasp, ignoring her petulant complaints and picked her up as a groom would his bride. Except, the groom never had to carry something slipperier than a fish.

“Hold still, Darcy,” Loki said.

“I wanna waaalk,” Darcy said.

“Why walk when you can return to your bed in comfort?” Loki asked. “Come on, Darcy.” He shifted his clothes to his casual tunic and his face returned to its pale, unpainted form. Darcy blinked groggily up at him before reaching up to pet his face. However, he took this chance to carry on walking and focussed on the stairs as he descended them.

Loki had many years of great focus and concentration behind him, which was why her inappropriate touches to his face and hair didn’t make him stumble or go astray. First her fingers touched the sides of his face, coming up to explore his cheekbones, then tracing his lips. Her fingers ran through his hair and soon enough, he had brought her to her room. He was about to lower her into her bed when she threw her arms around his shoulders and touched her lips to his. Except, it was a little closer to smacking, because it was not exactly gentle, elegant or shy. His mind flashed to that day she had kissed him after their fall. Now, even if he wished to return the ardour, she was drunk and it would not be right.

His thoughts had gone astray, for he was brought from them by the feeling of Darcy’s hands; one was in his hair and one was attempting to find something on his trousers. A zip or buttons, he could only assume and he took hold of her hand, pulling it away as he pulled away from her face. Loki was surprised she had dropped out of his arms without notice, but nevertheless, he ignored her disappointed/angry expression and magicked her into her pajamas, before wrestling her into her bed and holding her inside the covers while he tried to reason with her.

“I get it, I get it…you don’t find us silly mortals attractive…urgh,” Darcy said, looking like she wanted to throw up. Loki put his hand to her forehead and the colour returned to her face before she fell asleep, thanks to his magic. Loki sighed and tidied up her hair before leaving her room.

“Females are all the same everywhere; a shred of decency and they think you find them unattractive,” Loki huffed, but in rather good humour before returning to his own room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnd tada! 
> 
> Also, thank you to bookishbeauty13 from Tumblr and miravisu from here for their drinking game prompts, used here in some shape or form; hopefully they were put in well and, well, interpreted reasonably. 
> 
> I will happily accept any ideas or the like that my readers want to give, but I can't promise I'll use them, as they might not fit with what I'm doing with the story or whatever. Usable or not, I'm sure all prompts will be wonderful! 
> 
> Have a nice day!


	12. Take a chance 'cause you might grow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never a dull moment when Loki's around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> I'd like to say thank you to all those who have left me kudos and to miravisu, superwholocked23, jenefaner, Shadows_of_Shemai, lilycxavier, marshmallowdeviant, mohawkbaby, Kat, Angela M and Alexa+Hiwatari for all of your wonderful comments! They mean a lot to me and make me smile! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Darcy felt like something heavy was sitting on her face when she woke sometime in the late afternoon. She groaned as she rolled over and forced herself to get out of bed, not caring that she felt like getting out of bed at a slower pace. She knew she wouldn’t get out that way. Darcy made her way into the main area of her apartment and to the kitchen, finding a somewhat old-fashioned or perhaps fantastical bottle on the surface with a note to the side.

 

_To my silly Midgardian friend,_

_This is a potion to attend to your hangover that has most likely hit you full force. I would hope this would only be a one-time occurrence, but I highly doubt it._

_Loki_

It was written in elegant green handwriting and _man_ he had nice handwriting. She did roll her eyes at his cheeky assumption, but knew it was true anyway. It wasn’t her first hangover and wouldn’t be her last. Still, she would forgive his comment for he had provided her with a cure. Darcy quickly chugged the whole thing, deciding she would keep the potion bottle. Hey, she was all about history and this thing _reeked_ of it. Darcy then decided to visit the saviour of her head and found him reading a book on his sofa. No surprise there; the guy read more books than even she did and wow, that was kind of sad. She rushed over and flung her arms around the unsuspecting God, missing the wide-eyed look of surprise.

“Thanks for the cure; it was going to be a bad one,” Darcy said, not noticing how frozen he was at her embrace. She plopped herself beside him, not caring that she was still in her pajamas. “Last night was awesome, if not hazy…”

“Probably for the best,” Loki murmured. Darcy sat back and tried to remember a few things, leaving Loki to continue reading his book. Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Images of kissing Loki and her hand travelling to his…Oh God. Darcy looked at Loki alarmed and her cheeks reddened.

“D-did we…? I remember kissing you and…er,” Darcy stumbled. Loki looked at her.

“I stopped your actions, putting you to bed. You were rather disappointed, soon claiming my rejection of your advances related to your mortal unattractiveness. It was, of course, because I do not find pleasure in taking advantage of drunken people,” Loki explained, which relieved her greatly and she let out a little laugh. It was still embarrassing though.

“That’s a relief. N-not that, you know, just…I…” Darcy blushed.

“You are a maiden, and wish to be sober in your first experience, at the very least,” Loki finished for her. Darcy’s eyes almost bugged out. He shrugged. “I am perceptive and known for battle strategy among Thor and my former comrades-in-arms; little details are easy enough to pick up on or deduce. It is nothing to be ashamed of; I was the same, in regards to romance.”

“Really? The myths painted you in a rather…sexual deviant light; with quite a hunger,” Darcy said. Loki chuckled.

“Yes, though the myths are horrifically mistold, and there must have been some form of soothsayers within your kind, because not even I knew I was of Jotunn blood until very recently,” Loki said. “I am, shall we say…content with books and knowledge; romance did not come to me often, and when it did, then yes, I was as any other man in love. Libido is just not a ruling factor in my life. I can count the number of romantic partners in my life on one hand, and the amount of times I have been in love with six fingers.” Darcy took this in before looking at him.

“Unrequited?” Darcy asked softly.

“My first love, Sigyn. Yes, I do realise she features as my wife in legends of old, however, I was a mere boy when I first befriended her and felt the sweet sorrow of feelings towards her,” Loki responded.

“How old were you?” She asked, curiously.

“Eighteen, and she was about one hundred years older than I; we became great friends, I did announce my feelings in a rather embarrassing display and we soon moved past it. I have not spoken with her in some time, however,” Loki said, a little sadly. Darcy reached over and put her hand on his with a small but sad smile.

“That’s really sweet,” Darcy said. “You sound like you were a rather adorable young man back then.” She watched him roll his eyes. “Hey, adorable’s good; I’d rather have a guy who shows an embarrassing display than a guy who just doesn’t respect you and only wants to have sex. Sure, I want intimacy, but I want long discussions, geeky ones, book ones, anything really.”

“I am about the same; I see no good in intimacy without good intellect as well,” Loki said. “Oh, wait…no, I have had six lovers…I just tend to try and forget Lorelei.” He shuddered and Darcy didn’t ask about her.

“I think most of us would have expected you to have more, but…how long did they last, anyway?” Darcy asked.

“Oh, quite some time, some even longer than a mortal lifespan,” Loki said.

“Makes sense. If you’re immortal, I mean, who’s to say anything will last for all of time?” Darcy asked.

“Some do, some do not, you are quite right,” Loki said. “However, it is extremely rare a thing to see a couple divorce on Asgard.”

“That’s awesome,” Darcy said, before falling silent. She smiled a little to herself, quite enjoying this talk of theirs. He had done bad things, but it was times like these that she found it easy to forget that; and she was surprised that he had done such things. Darcy took hold of the remote and remembered with a shudder that it was horror genre season. They’d ended up not watching any so far, simply because they’d either been busy, or in the mood for something a bit more comforting. She switched the television on, grateful that these movies aired in the evenings. Typical. The television turned onto a news channel and she decided to leave it on, being one to keep up with the news. This particular piece proved interesting.

“After around three months of negotiating and stabilising the situation, all troops sent into Afghanistan to aid the situation have been called back home after resolving the issue and restoring the Afghani government. Far sooner than anyone had anticipated, it appears that the conflicts had come to a halt as soon as word of the alien army led by a supposed God of legend, Loki, attacking New York City spread to the Middle East,” the newsreader said, and there was a rather good quality close up picture of Loki during his attack on New York. Darcy could almost feel the discomfort coming from the guy in question sat next to her. Then a picture of him from his announcement to the world of his presence and regret showed up on the other side of the screen. “Now as we all know, the Asgardian known as Loki is currently residing somewhere here on Earth as a punishment for his crimes, though we don’t know exactly _how_ he is being punished. Whether he is truthful of his so-called remorse, is something we have yet to see, but we are all a little more comfortable knowing that the Asgardian Thor, his brother, is here too along with the rest of the Avengers, who only three months ago stopped the catastrophe spreading further. May God bless those who lost their lives that day, and there will be more later on this story. Tune in at 9pm where we have experts in for a further analysis.”

Darcy was blinking at the television screen before looking at Loki. “Wow, okay, so that was unexpected,” Darcy said. Loki looked grave.

“Perhaps the only… _good_ that has come out of my actions,” Loki said. “But no man should have to die for the sake of another, no matter how many people are saved.” Darcy couldn’t help but pull him into a hug, regardless of how he might feel about such an act.

“You’re a good guy, underneath all that. I can see how you regret your actions,” Darcy murmured. Darcy gave him one last squeeze before pulling away and sitting there for a moment in silence. She turned off the television and thought about the pictures. Loki had blue eyes in the New York picture, but she knew his eyes were green. She wondered whether she should confront him or talk to the others about this. However, the latter just seemed like some form of betrayal and Darcy didn’t want to do that. “Loki, in New York…I mean, looking at that picture…your eyes were blue. What does that mean?” Loki looked at her and she could see uncertainty in his gaze; not that of not knowing the answer, but of _telling_ her the answer. “Loki, you can tell me. I know when we talked about your problems one time you said you weren’t ready to talk, but…”

“Darcy…you are aware that I used a sceptre of great power to control various people’s minds, yes?” Loki asked, uncomfortably.

“Yeah, it’s why Erik left and Barton’s…uncomfortable, but attempting to remain professional with you here,” Darcy said.

“Their eyes became a pale blue once I had control of them,” Loki said. Darcy’s eyes widened.

“Were you…controlled too?” Darcy asked.

“A little…it is more along the lines of how Dr. Banner was affected, picking up the sceptre without realising it. All of my hatred and resentment was brought forth by the sceptre, intensifying it and bringing my already crazed mind to such a place where I worked with my allies to cause the devastation. I was not being mind-controlled, but there was some lack of choice on my part. However, they were still my actions; brought on by my ill choice to fall from Asgard,” Loki said. Darcy sat there and digested that new piece of information.

“You’re punishing yourself,” Darcy stated. There was more silence and she looked at him, trying to get a response.

“Yes. Of course I am. I do not _want_ to be a monster, but I fear it is too late,” Loki murmured, emotion lacing through his voice. Darcy reached over and took his hand, lacing her fingers in his and staring at him until he turned to face her as well. Darcy thought she saw tears in the corners of his eyes, but she wasn’t sure.

“Monsters don’t feel regret, but baby steps, okay? I think the fact that you feel awful about what you did is a good step towards redemption. It’s what you’re here for, right? And if you want to get yourself back to all the Godlike glory, then you’re not doing too bad a job, eh?” Darcy said, smiling weakly at him. “Come on.” She pulled his head onto her shoulder and cuddled him. She then heard and felt the rumble in her stomach and sighed. “Alright, food time. I’ll make us some food and we can watch a film, yeah?”

“Alright,” Loki responded.

“Perhaps the Neverending Story; you might like that one,” Darcy said.

“I have read the book; it was rather good,” Loki said.

“It certainly was; the movie’s a bit different, but still good,” Darcy said.

They both ate and watched the movie peacefully, snuggled up to each other as Darcy felt the need to comfort him. They ended up falling asleep as such.

 

* * *

 

The dream didn’t start out too badly, really; miles better than what Loki could have anticipated. There were few things in the universe that Loki feared, and what was to appear in nightmares was one of them. Loki had not the strength nor energy to deal with nightmares. As it was, it was a dream of the speech he gave, exactly how it happened. Before he found out what he was, he often dreamt of significant events, as if going over in his mind the ins and the outs, whether a better outcome could have arisen and the like.

This was rather significant.

Loki was asked to remain away from the cameras; the public needed to know first rather than see him straight away and panic. So he waited in a room on his own, looking into the room through the strange mirror that he can see through and they cannot see into. It was some sort of press conference, one of many things he was to learn about Midgard; he was going to be here for a while and perhaps even become fluent in its workings. Once the people with their cameras of the moving and still variety became settled, Director Fury addressed the crowd.

“We are all gathered here today for a very serious and very important announcement; at first it was to be kept a secret, but rumours are popping up and we will simply just let the world know. The Asgardian Loki, former leader of the Chittauri army that attacked New York about three months ago is here on Earth serving out his punishment,” Fury started before panicked voices started up. “Now hold on. Thor, who you all probably know by now, has assured us that he is indeed harmless, an enchantment to halt his ability to harm any innocent being is placed on Loki. We have so far found no reason to doubt this.” Fury went on and on, those with cameras being allowed to ask questions and all the while it was only troubling him more.

Although he was still dreaming, his out-of-dream conscience, the one that could view a dream like one his clones could view himself, felt as if there was someone else here. It was strange, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint it.

Dream Loki let out a sigh and stood up, vanishing and reappearing next to Fury, causing a number of gasps and one woman fainted. How melodramatic. Fury was glaring at him and Loki merely gestured for him to move before he stood in front of the podium himself, for a moment a little speechless and…nervous? Dear Yggdrasil, what had happened to him?! He cleared his throat.

“Hello, I apologise for my sudden appearance, I just feel it necessary that I speak for myself,” Loki said, pausing for a moment. “My actions upon your realm are unforgivable and I am not here for your forgiveness; I am here on an attempt to atone for my sins, and am currently limited in my powers, trapped in a mortal body. Meaning that if I do not better myself, no amount of shapeshifting will stop me from growing old.” He heard a laugh and found himself smiling a little in their direction. His face became serious again. “No one should have died that day, and while I do regret my actions and offer my sincerest apologies, none of that will bring them back to life.”

Conscious Loki cocked his head, invisible in his own dream somewhere on the stage, feeling that presence again. He looked around before spotting a figure in the corner of his eye. However, it wasn’t there when he turned, and yet it was, back in the corner. Loki couldn’t quite catch a proper glimpse at the mysterious figure. It was rather strange and Loki found himself turning all around in an effort to figure it out, but nothing…and everything.

“So, Loki, did you really birth a horse?” A member of the press asked. Both Lokis sighed simultaneously, dream Loki dropping his face into his hands in exasperation.

 

* * *

 

Loki’s eyes blinked awake and he looked around, immediately realising where he was. He looked to his side and saw Darcy sleeping against him, his arm wrapped lightly around her. Now that was a surprise, especially since he didn’t sleep well. If at all, and this was without bad dream. Odd. Loki wasn’t sure whether to move or not. He looked over to the wall where a clock sat upon it and saw that it was 8:30am. She should really be getting up right now. Loki poked her a couple of times before he saw her open her blue eyes hazily. She looked at their situation and blinked some more.

“Good morning, Darcy. It is 8:30am,” Loki said.

“Good mo…WHAT?” Darcy said in a panicked voice, springing up and for a moment just staring at the clock. “Oh, _God._ I have to shower, get ready, breakfast…urgh.”

“Relax,” Loki said, standing up and taking hold of her arms, transforming her clothes after using a spell to make her clean. “Now, a quick breakfast will be in order.” Loki walked over to the kitchen and made her some cereal. It was a rather childish brand, but he found he enjoyed it. He poured two bowls out and sat down opposite her.

“Thanks, you’ve really helped me the past two days,” Darcy said.

“It is the least I can do, after…” Loki murmured ruefully. He wasn’t sure what went through his head when he did that. Only that he was remorseful.

“Let’s move on; but you have to seek help sometime; maybe not now, but when you’re ready,” Darcy said. Loki nodded, before giving her a smile, which she returned. Once finished, Darcy stood up and Loki stopped her from making the move to wash up. “Thanks. Well, I’m gonna head on down to work. Try not to get into trouble.” Loki shook his head at her and watched her leave. He cleaned the dishes with magic and returned them to the cupboard before making his way out of his apartment.

Thor was leaving his own as well and beamed when he saw Loki. “Loki! That was a rather entertaining night the other night! I think I would like to do it again sometime!” Thor said jovially. He was reminded of two moments in the past when Thor was described as sunshine in the morning; the first woman spoke it with awe and wonder, cheered up by the mere sight of Thor’s happiness. The other could not be more opposite and he never saw her again. No matter; she was a frightful little creature. How on Asgard Thor and she had become bed mates, he had not a clue.

“Yes, it was rather amusing,” Loki said. Thor was smiling at him in a rather annoying way, and he knew he was going to regret _something_ from last night.

“Can we speak in private? I do not feel this is the best of places to speak so honestly with you,” Thor said. Loki sighed and led him back into his room. They sat down upon the sofa and Thor gave him yet another annoying smile. “You are much changed, brother. I feel as if the old you is returning; that I am closer to you speaking brother from your lips once again.” Loki thought for a moment; what was holding him back? Himself. Loki looked at him for a moment.

“I am honestly surprised you call me that still, after everything…” Loki said, honestly.

“You are still my brother, and I have not given up on you; you are becoming the man I once knew and I know that my decision to stand by you has not been in vain,” Thor said, smiling.

“I…am not sure I deserve it,” Loki admitted. Thor’s expression became warmer and he put his arm around Loki. Loki stiffened, but relaxed after a few moments.

“Deserving is subjective; perhaps some would think not, but you know I do not generally follow people’s orders,” Thor said.

“No, that is why you were banished,” Loki said in good humour. “It is why you had to clean the whole grand hall when we were children.”

“Oh, please do not remind me, I think my wrist still aches from that time,” Thor joked. “Brother, it is alright if you need some time to believe me; I know you are far warier than I in social matters. Just know that I love you and would give up Mjölnir to prove it.” Loki looked at him with widened eyes. Thor loved his hammer; while he could wield other weapons efficiently, it was his favourite weapon of all. It would be the same gesture as Loki giving up his magic for him. Mjölnir and his magic, they were the two striking and valuable assets Thor and Loki possessed. He felt something in his chest; a feeling of warmth, shock, it was…he wasn’t sure whether he could even fully describe them with words.

“I would never ask you to do that for me,” Loki responded. “So do not even dare it, because I will kill you.” It was a playful tone.

“Promises, promises,” Thor said playfully back. Loki laughed. It was a response to their age old threats to kill the other, even though neither were serious. Loki sobered a little.

“I am sorry for trying to kill you; I…never really wanted to, it was just…some way to keep you from returning, especially so soon,” Loki murmured softly. And just like that, they started talking about it, of Loki’s feelings of inferiority, the jealousy, the madness…the self-loathing in regards to his heritage and so on. They talked for hours and while Loki didn’t reveal everything that bothered him, nothing past him letting go of Gungnir, it was good. He knew it wouldn’t solve all of his issues, but at least he and his brother might stand a chance.

At some point, Loki stood up and walked over to the kitchen, getting them both a drink while Thor noticed something in the corner of the couch. Pulling it out, Thor stared wide-eyed at the bottom half of a piece of lacy lingerie. Thor blinked around at the apartment and spotted another thing, the same maroon colour as the lingerie. He stood up and walked over to it, picking it up and turning to Loki as he returned.

“Loki…is this _Lady Darcy’s_ hat? And…uh…” Thor asked. Loki looked at both garments and blinked.

“The hat, yes, the lingerie…I know not,” Loki said.

“Do not lie, brother. Have you two been…” Thor started, making Loki blink some more before shaking his head.

“Of course not!” Loki said, flushing a little.

“Then why were they tucked into the sofa?” Thor asked, wiggling the lingerie a little gingerly.

“I know not,” Loki said, putting the drinks down. He could tell Thor was not angry, at least. Maybe a bit unsure whether to be pleased, amused, shocked or something else. Even so, he did _not_ know how such a garment had come to be in his sofa. “She must have left her hat here, but the _lingerie_ I know not of how it is there. I swear it, brother, I swear on my magic.”

“Lady Darcy visits you?” Thor asked.

“I-yes,” Loki said. Just then, the door opened and in walked Darcy with a bunch of snack foods. She stopped when she saw the brothers and blinked at the garments in Thor’s hands.

“Oh, I, just remembered, Jane−,” Darcy started. It clicked and Loki narrowed his eyes at her, shutting the door with his magic.

“Darcy…have you planted these garments on purpose?” Loki asked.

“Uh, no, of course not,” Darcy responded, seemingly innocently.

“You are lying, I can tell,” Loki said. Darcy laughed.

“Fine, fine. It was a prank! Revenge for the other morning!” Darcy said. Thor laughed and then sighed.

“Oh, Lady Darcy, you know not of what you have done; Loki will likely return the favour now,” Thor said. Loki grinned, just to prove Thor’s point.

“Bring it,” Darcy responded.

Thor groaned.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, certain good events are coming from Loki's devastation, but one good doesn't erase the bad. I admit the news report could be a bit of a risky move, but it doesn't mean there is going to be all rainbows and fluffy bunnies from now. So don't worry, I'm not trying to brush Loki's deeds under the rug. That and the Iron Man 3 plot will be starting soon. I'm in a few minds about it really; many ideas for it.


	13. You found who you are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is coming into Christmas and while one Asgardian is embracing it merrily, the other is a little harder to please (three guesses which is which!). On top of that, Darcy gets some rather good news. Now, let's hope things carry on going upwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Soo I realised a little too late that I had assumed Avengers was set in 2012. XD So basically, this fic is set in July 2012 to begin with and yeah. 
> 
> Thanks to all those who have left kudos on this story and thanks to Shadows_of_Shemai, Willowlux, jenefaner and marshmallowdeviant for your comments! :3 There will be more on the dream line in the future. :D
> 
> Enjoy!

Just over a month passed and Darcy had not experienced any form of pay back for her prank, and she knew it would come, but she didn’t know _when_. That was part of his play, she was quite sure and she wasn’t sure whether to be nervous or excited for whatever was to come. Especially since he seemed to be a lot more cheerful these days and more open. Loki still had a way to go, but it was an improvement. Still, Christmas was coming soon and they got to show the Asgardians the wonderful holiday. Darcy was teaching Loki about it and Jane had already got Thor psyched about it; he was helping with the decorations and being all cutesy with Jane. She couldn’t help taking photos of it all; the tower and its residents were all awesome to hang around with. Tony hadn’t been around since the Halloween party, being over in his place in Malibu with Pepper, but Steve was around and sometimes Bruce would make an appearance. Clint and Natasha, well…they must be around at times, but she rarely saw them. Not that she had really spoken to them anyway.

Darcy had decorated her own room and now took a box of decorations to Loki’s room, knocking and entering once she was signalled to. Loki was on the sofa looking at something. She walked over and sat by him.

“What’re you looking at?” Darcy asked.

“Ava sent me a letter…and a, ah, sonogram,” Loki said. He showed her the sonogram and Darcy beamed.

“Awww, wow! Look at you getting mail and everything. Which reminds me,” Darcy said, pulling out a box. “Here, Tony finally finished his latest Starkphone model. Thor’s got a very sturdy version; figured that Thor would be the most likely to break it.” Loki took the phone and started to look through it. “It’s got Thor’s, Jane’s, the Avengers’, Ava’s, Leo’s and even my numbers in it. Oh, and Pepper’s. You never know when you might need to contact these guys, so they’re there.”

“Thank you,” Loki said. It was silent for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face.

“Oh, God, what are you up to now?” Darcy asked, a little warily.

“You need not call me that; Loki will suffice,” Loki smirked at her.

“Shut it, Rudolph, you know very well it’s just a phrase,” Darcy said. “Anyway, what’s the smile for? Can’t be anything good.”

“There is a way to make these calls anonymous, yes?” Loki asked. Darcy stepped closer and fiddled with the phone, showing him how to do it. Loki then pulled up a number and dialled. He held it a little away from him.

“You know, …” Darcy started, but realised soon that he didn’t need to have the phone near his ear.

“Hello?” Thor’s voice was clear through the speakers. Loki tapped his throat and his voice changed.

“Son, it is your father, I need you to come home now, please wait outside in the nearest space available,” Loki said. Darcy started sniggering.

“What is wrong? Wait, how did you get hold of this mortal contraption?” Thor asked.

“It matters not; do what I ask of you,” Loki said.

“I still do not−,” Thor said.

“Thor, your father couldn’t possibly be phoning from Asgard; what are the chances of there even being a signal?” Jane said.

“It is rather odd,” Thor said. They heard shuffling before Loki’s door opened to show the couple. Loki hung up and laughed. “Loki!!”

“I thought you would prefer me not to be miserable and sulky in here? Now you complain about me coming back into myself?” Loki smirked. Thor laughed, shaking his head.

“Oh, you are certainly returning,” Thor said. “Could I not have you without the tricks?”

“No,” Loki answered.

“So lame, Thor. That’s like you without the hammer,” Darcy said.

“You are right, of course,” Thor said. He beamed around the room. “We will leave you be; Jane and I are off out.”

“Oooh, have fun!” Darcy said, before cat-calling. She watched as Jane blushed and knew her day was complete. The happy couple left and Darcy dropped down next to Loki with a laugh. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he was becoming more and more open and maybe a little happier…a little more like what he used to be. At least, from the stories she’d heard from Thor, it sounded like he was a pretty playful, cheeky, yet laid-back and a little bit self-conscious at times. Other things too; Thor seemed to have trouble describing him, telling her and Jane that it would be much easier if they could see for themselves. A complicated personality. She wasn’t really all that surprised; for someone to react so (in her opinion) over-the-top about something like being adopted; he clearly had some intense feelings.

“Oh, yeah, decorations. So we’re going to put them up in your apartment today. And no, not with magic. I could totally see you waving your hand and putting them up. Sooo no cheating,” Darcy said. Loki rolled his eyes and stood up, picking up the box and putting it onto the sofa before pulling out the green tinsel. “Of course you would pick out the green ones.” Loki smirked and started fixing it onto different places, taking various ornaments and placing them about the apartment. Darcy helped him and in the end, it was looking pretty damn festive. Darcy grinned.

“See how much better that is?” Darcy asked. Loki looked around at their work.

“It is rather bizarre,” Loki replied.

“You’re just not used to it. You really need to lighten up and get into the Christmas spirit. Sooo, we’re going to watch lots of Christmas movies,” Darcy said, walking to the door. “I’ll be back in a moment.” It took her only a few minutes to gather as many Christmas movies from her room before she brought them back to Loki’s room and put them onto the coffee table. “Okay! So I think we’ll start with one of the more popular ones, Home Alone. I think you’ll appreciate Kevin’s antics. Trust me.” So they sat and watched Home Alone, and she could hear Loki laughing, especially when Kevin was getting one over on the burglars.

“I liked that one,” Loki said. “He has a most unfortunate family, but they did come around a little.”

“Wait ‘til you see the second one,” Darcy said, replacing the first disc with the second. Much like the first one, Loki seemed to enjoy it. It went on like that; Darcy got some lunch for them before they played the third one, which Loki also enjoyed and about halfway through the fourth film, Darcy’s phone started ringing.

“You can carry on, I’ve seen it a million times and it’s good, though not my favourite,” Darcy said.

“Oh no, I will wait,” Loki said.

“Aww, you sweetheart,” Darcy said, absently kissing his cheek before leaving the room to take the call, missing Loki’s shocked expression. “Hello?”

“Hello, Miss. Lewis, this is Director Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I know you know about us, at the very least,” Fury said. Her eyes widened and she stood up from her couch, unable to sit through such a call.

“Yeah, uh, yes, I met Agent Coulson and a few others before, uh…I’m sorry, erm, yes, I know of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Darcy responded.

“I need you to come down to my office, third floor, as soon as you can,” Fury said. Darcy’s eyes widened. Fury wanted to see her?! Oh God, what had she done? Shit, shit, _shit._ “Miss. Lewis?”

“Yes! Sorry, yes, I’ll be up right away. Uh, what’s the dress code?” Darcy asked.

“Relax, Miss. Lewis. You are not in trouble. As long as you are not wearing something your grandmother would disapprove of, you can come in jeans and t shirt if you like,” Fury said. Darcy relaxed. Thank God; she didn’t know what this was about, but she was sure as hell relieved to find out that she was at least not in trouble.

“Alright, thank you, I shouldn’t be too long,” Darcy said. He hung up and she ran a hand through her hair before rushing back into Loki’s room. He had just been getting a drink. Darcy dashed over to him. “I gotta go see Director Fury…I’m not in trouble, just…I don’t know, I’ll see you later, feel free to watch the movies without me. I’ll be right back here afterwards, okay? Unless I really _am_ in trouble, then I’ll see you in the afterlife.” She laughed, though it was unsteady and giddy. She gave him a quick hug before racing out of the room and to the elevator. She rode the elevator down to the third floor and the door opened, leading her into a vastly different atmosphere than the other parts of the tower she had seen; she wondered if she was even in the same building anymore. An agent immediately stepped over to her.

“You must be Darcy Lewis, I’m Agent Lyons, come right this way,” she said, leading Darcy through a few corridors and to a rather imposing-looking door. She didn’t need to read the sign to know whose office this was. “Here we go, just go right in.”

“Thanks,” Darcy said, but found herself knocking first, waiting to be let in. Manners never hurt anyone. She was told to go in by a man’s voice and opened the door, stepping inside and closing it. The office was darkly-coloured, with furniture to suit the style too. She walked towards the desk which had a guy with an eye patch sat behind it.

“Take a seat, Miss. Lewis,” Fury said and she did, still feeling rather nervous. “I called you in here in regards to a job. You already know that your friend and boss is working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and that we have been deliberating over you. I have also heard a little more recently in regards to your relationship with the criminal Loki―.”

“Oh, I, uh, I mean, yeah, we’re friends. I haven’t forgotten what he’s done or anything, and he seems to―,” Darcy stumbled. Man, she wasn’t usually so stuck for words.

“Miss. Lewis, I had heard you were better with words than this,” Fury said, a little humour in his voice. What? She had heard he was quite stern and…well, didn’t really give off the humour vibe. Maybe a little sarcasm. “Your connection with Loki is nothing to worry about, Miss. Lewis. As far as we are concerned, he is actively working to better himself and a few individuals have updated me on his progress, including information that you have been getting friendly with him, potentially speeding up the process and doing him _good_. I admit, when I first saw him down here and heard of his punishment, I was sceptical. It didn’t seem like a very good punishment. However, I have been monitoring the situation and of course, I was there when he made his own speech to the world. S.H.I.E.L.D. does not work in the same light as the rest of the world. We make our own mistakes. We hire people who have made terrible life choices, but have proven themselves changed people. Sometimes our methods are considered a little out of the moral compass, however we do work to save this world, and I will see what unfolds in regards to Loki. If there is anything more you can provide from your time spent with him, it would be much appreciated.”

“Oh, uh, I can’t. I mean…there are some things he has told me that might be useful, but he has to tell you himself. All I can say is that he’s not completely evil, having to just atone and all that. I just think he’s a guy who has come into certain circumstances and…ended up doing some bad things,” Darcy said. “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but I just can’t betray him. I think he has enough trust issues without someone he’s opened up to blurting out stuff he’s confided in them with.”

“Understandable, Miss. Lewis. I will press no further,” Fury said. “And I will not ask you to do anything with regards to him; your relationship with him should stay strictly of your own accord, not of some outside meddling.” Darcy blinked at him, surprised. She had kind of expected something along the line of that, but hey, she didn’t know this guy or S.H.I.E.L.D. very well.

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Darcy said.

“Now, down to business, we have come to a decision that we would like you to work for us, sort of like how Dr. Foster is working with us,” Fury said. “I know you specialise in Political Science and Computer Science, not to mention a talented hacker.”

“Ahaha…I guess so…” Darcy said, but her heart was racing. A job? This sounded awesome. Something a little more rewarding than what she was doing now (no offence, Jane!).

“We would like you to work towards becoming something of an international liaison, among other things. We will talk further on your official duties come the new year; we still have a few things to settle,” Fury said.

“This is amazing, thank you,” Darcy said. “I hope I won’t disappoint you.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine; you’ll be given training for the job, and we’ll also give you more specialised computer training,” Fury said.

“Thank you!” Darcy beamed.

“You may go now,” Fury said. Darcy gave him a mock salute before heading on out and back towards the entrance, pushing the elevator button and rushing to Loki’s room as quickly as she could. Loki was in some ‘casual’ clothes (a formal shirt and smart black trousers) and had a towel to his wet hair. There was something about men with wet hair…not important. Darcy happily ran to him and hugged him.

“I got a job! A real job! S.H.I.E.L.D. want me for some international liaison job or something and it’ll start after Christmas. How great is that?!” Darcy said, before pulling back and laughing at the surprise on his face. “I know, right? They want someone like me in their organisation!” His expression changed to some sort of frown.

“No, no, I…was not surprised because of that; no, that is wonderful news. Darcy, you are an intelligent young woman and you do not give yourself enough credit,” Loki said. Now it was her turn to be surprised.

“Was that a compliment? My God, Loki, you’re slipping,” Darcy shot at him, covering up her own surprise. Loki wasn’t very forthright with that kind of stuff.

“Darcy, I am being serious,” Loki said. “You noticed what even Thor did not; remember that news programme and you noticed the difference in my eye colour? You are intelligent; we have discussed many things in our time and you have always seemed intelligent to me.”

“Thanks, that’s really kind of you to say,” Darcy said, suddenly bashful. She looked up at his hair, which was still wet. “I’m surprised you don’t just dry your hair with magic.”

“Sometimes I like to do things without the use of magic,” Loki winked. “Otherwise, it is quicker with magic.”

“You’re so lucky; I wish I could use magic. Everything would be so much easier,” Darcy said.

“It is not impossible; mortals have been known to have the potential to learn magic,” Loki said.

“Do you think I could wield magic?” Darcy asked.

“Perhaps, but for now, shall we finish our film?”

“Okay, although just one thing first…” Darcy said, before reaching up quickly while he had the towel away from his hair and ruffling it so that it became messy. She dashed away and it turned into a bit of a game of cat and mouse, except the cat didn’t really need to run. The two messy haired friends ended up on the couch, finishing the film they had started.  

 

* * *

 

It was five days until Christmas and Darcy was still working on presents; her family was all bought for, along with Jane, but for the others she was stumped. What did you get for a guy who could magic a lot of things or for a Prince who had a lot of money? She also had the same problem with a billionaire and his girlfriend, who probably didn’t have to worry about money either. She was living in his tower rent-free and she had come to like the pair. It was always fun on their odd little group gatherings, eating pizza and whatnot. And don’t even get her started on the Halloween party; that had been hilarious and it had certainly been great to see Loki loosen up a little. So Darcy called on Jane and they decided to do their Christmas shopping together; better that than to end up with some really bad present. Plus, Jane wasn’t sure what to get Thor either. So it worked out for both of them. It took them hours, but eventually they found all of the presents they needed and headed back to Stark Tower.

Walking into the lobby, Darcy and Jane headed towards the elevator. There was a TV on in the lobby and they were instantly distracted by it. As they watched further, they realised it was Tony’s house in Malibu. They gasped when they spotted the missile heading towards it and there was an explosion. It was truly difficult to figure out what else happened, the camera not close enough to really see whether Tony and Pepper had gotten out. _Please, please be okay._ They watched for what felt like the longest moments in their life before it soon became clear that Tony was…was dead. How was that even possible? It looked like Pepper was alright, but Tony…

Darcy just stood there, not knowing what to do. It seemed to be the same for Jane and it was only when someone approaching them started talking to them.

“Hello? Is this where I could find Thor and Captain America?” The woman asked. Darcy looked at her, pale as a sheet, before blinking.

“Uhh,” Darcy said. They weren’t really supposed to draw attention to where the Avengers were. “No, why?” She hated lying, but she had a strange, bad feeling about the man and woman in front of them. They stepped closer and there was something odd about their skin.

“I think you’re lying,” the woman said, smiling strangely and they were _really_ glowing. Then everything happened so fast as something seemed to blow up and…she felt nothing. All she could tell is that Loki had appeared, pushed Jane and her down onto the floor and kaboom! Except they were not kaboom. They were, in fact, in one piece.

Loki had saved them.

From somewhere above, there was the sound of another explosion.

What the hell was wrong with the world today?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Without meaning to, I now have two fanfics with a chapter ending in some form of explosion. *Face palm.* Well, while I write with a fair amount of forward planning, neither were planned. As you can probably see, IM3 story arc is coming into play and will be diverging from canon in some way or another (hey, it's already happening!) I don't know how many chapters this arc will last, perhaps just one chapter so that it doesn't drag on.


	14. No one's gonna take my soul away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things heat up when what looks like Mandarin attacks hit New York and the Avengers work out how to protect New York, figure out what happened to Tony and the rest of the Mandarin attacks all at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Thanks for all of the kudos and to too_legit_to_knit, marshmallowdeviant, Shadows_of_Shemai, ibided, Lauralina, Aeva, Kat and MistressofLoki for your comments! Hopefully I don't miss anyone out in these thanks; they don't seem to show them in order of when I got them. XD 
> 
> Haha! I actually didn't intend them to flirt, but I'm quite happy for it to be perceived that way. Chances are they won't realise they are either; as you've guessed, it's a slow pace so romance will be slow as well. Not that you won't get a couple of teases here and there of course. :3 Yeah, the one thing that bugs me about all these post-Avenger films is why there's no crossing over. Wouldn't Tony have flown over to help with Thor? Well, okay, considering the end of IM3...but there were others! So yeah, this fic'll hopefully tie everything in a bit more. Thanks ibided I edited Tony's residence to Malibu; I must have got the two mixed up. XD 
> 
> Enjoy!

Darcy coughed as the light and the dust subsided; she was squashed to the floor with Jane, covered by Loki as much as he apparently could. As soon as the pressure was off of her, she knelt up and looked around. The lobby was barely recognisable, but the tower hadn’t fallen on top of them so that was a bonus. The explosion mustn’t be quite as bad as it seemed. Darcy looked to Loki and Jane, the latter person staring around wildly. She looked at Loki.

“What the hell happened?!” Darcy shouted, panicked. She watched as Loki turned his shirt and trousers into his Asgardian outfit. She hadn’t seen _that_ in a while. He stood up and pulled the two up with him, and he was looking up at the ceiling, before he sighed.

“It appears there are people walking around as human explosives; two must have gotten to the upper floors somehow,” Loki explained. “Thor is fine and shielded Mr. Rogers well. Dr. Banner became the hulk. There were no others in the lounge.”

“How is the building still standing?” Jane asked. “Thanks, by the way…I can’t believe…” Darcy wasn’t sure what shocked her more, that she had nearly died or that Jane was speechless.

“I put up as much magical energy around the building as I could before doing so to shield us,” Loki answered. It didn’t take long for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to come swarming in from the stairwell. Darcy looked at Loki and gestured for the two of them to follow her up the stairs until they got to a floor that seemed fine. A bit dusty. She walked to the console Jarvis spoke out of.

“Jarvis! Do you know if Tony is alive?” Darcy asked. “Is Pepper okay? Everyone?”

“Tony is indeed alive, Miss. Lewis. We are on our way to another location as I speak. Miss. Potts should be quite safe as well.”

“Thank God,” Darcy said. She turned to Loki and Jane. Loki took hold of both of them and transported them to the top floor, which looked little better than the lobby. Thor rushed to Jane and put an arm around her, before looking at Loki and the others in general.

“It appears those who were the source of the explosions are dead; the only question is: who is behind it all? This does not appear to be anything random and the destruction of Stark’s home in Malibu is likely linked,” Loki said.

“Maybe they’re trying to stop you guys from joining Tony in helping him―,” Darcy started, before the sounds of more explosions interrupted. Steve ran to the window and saw that it was parts of the city.

“This is definitely a distraction; we need to stop this,” Steve said. “Thor, can you lead on? I need to get my shield.”

He was, however, in no need to fetch it himself as Loki magicked him straight into his outfit and his shield in hand. Loki also stepped forward and gave him a long knife.

“You should really carry a weapon, just in case. This will do for now,” Loki said. The Hulk ran straight out of the window and jumped off the tower.

“Brother, make sure Jane and Darcy are safe,” Thor said, before turning to Steve. “Would you like a lift?” Steve nodded and they went. Loki took them both around the waist and transported them to an underground safe place, which was underneath Stark Tower, accessible if you were a proper S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Darcy ran to the console again, having an idea.

“Jarvis! Can you tell us everything you know about what’s going on? There have been a few explosions here, two in the tower and a few outside…Thor, Steve and Bruce have gone to do what they can, but we so far have no idea what is going on and who’s behind it,” Darcy said. So Jarvis did; every little detail he could give them. It was troubling and she honestly had no idea what they could do here. She looked at Loki and could see the cogs turning.

“Obviously wherever Tony is, is where the true problem is. However, New York needs to be protected first. You will be safe here; I will leave a double, just in case,” Loki said, a second version of him appearing before the original disappeared. Darcy looked at Jane.

“Now we’re going to have to go shopping _again_ ,” Darcy said.

 

* * *

 

Loki appeared on the roof so that he could get a better vantage point and see if he could spot anything that might be useful to them. He had told Thor and his comrades to carry on as Loki set up protection around the buildings. He looked around and spotted Agent Romanov now in the throes with her allies. Looking up at a building opposite, it wasn’t difficult to spot the figure of Barton, up high as always. Time passed and soon hours had flown by without a single explosion. Of course, this could easily be a diversion to the real trouble and they all knew that would probably be whatever Tony stumbled across. It was well after sundown now and he watched Thor and his friends return to the tower. Loki switched with his clone and brought the girls to the S.H.I.E.L.D. conference room, where the heroes met them, along with various agents. Loki sat next to Darcy and Jane was on her other side as Fury started discussing tactics and what their best plan of action was. Honestly, they probably needed to talk to Tony about this, but Loki was all about careful planning and wouldn’t stop them from being strategic. Strangely, he felt more of a need to just get in there and on with it. All was not normal with him. Apparently there were explosions in various places in the US and obviously they made the mistake of underestimating the heroes. The Mandarin had been a threat for some time now, but without leads they hadn’t been able to do something. However, now they had more information; human explosives. It was strange.

In the end, they decided to divide into teams. Of course, Loki wasn’t trusted enough to go with any of them. Dr. Banner was to remain in New York to keep it safe. The hawk and the spider would be given their mission in private, Captain Rogers and Thor got to make the trip. Loki was a little disappointed, if he were to be quite honest. Of course, protecting Darcy and Jane made him feel good, it made him feel like he had before somewhat. Before his life went downhill. However, Loki actually felt a little angry that he had been excluded, but he kept quiet. There wasn’t really any point in arguing; he understood why but it didn’t mean he had to like it. He watched as everyone slowly made their way out of the room until it was just Thor, the girls and himself left. Loki carried on staring ahead.

“Brother…” Thor said. Loki looked at him; he could tell that Thor knew he was not overly happy. Thor wasn’t the most perceptive of people, but he knew when Loki was sour about something regardless of how much he actually showed it.

“Just go,” Loki said.

“No,” Thor said. “You and I will go together. I will ask Steve to remain here and protect the city.” Loki stared at him before smiling a little. He doubted that Mr. Rogers would be particularly happy with him taking his place, but he did want to do _something_. Staying here would not allow that. He felt arms around him suddenly and lips pressed against his cheek. He didn’t move, but they soon left and he turned to see Darcy there.

“Thanks for saving me,” Darcy said. “I’d like to do something good with S.H.I.E.L.D. before I kick the can.” She looked up at Thor. “And if Loki can stop there being pieces of Darcy and Jane splattered over the lobby, whoever’s doing this is going to be in all kinds of trouble with you and Loki there. Anyway, go get ‘em tiger.” She was a strange one. Loki stood up and left the room with Thor, though not before turning back and giving her a small smile. He followed him through to the stairs as they took them; the safer option right now. They caught up to Steve in the lobby, who was taking a look at it before turning around to see the two brothers.

“Steve, I would like to ask you a great favour; I want to take Loki with me to assist Tony. I realise it is a lot to ask of you, but I cannot follow Director Fury’s orders on this one,” Thor said. Steve’s eyebrows raised and he looked at Loki for a moment, as if he was working out whether to go along with it.

“I will remain here while it all cools off; I’ll catch up to you later,” Steve answered. Thor beamed.

“Thank you, my friend. You will not regret it,” Thor said. He clasped hands with Steve before exiting the building. Loki stepped closer to Steve and nodded. He then had a thought.

“When you are checking for the safety of the city, could you check up on Ava and Leo?” Loki asked quietly. Steve nodded, a smile on his face at the request. It must have been strange to see his former enemy show such compassion towards others and be ready to fight _with_ them, rather than against. “Thank you.” Loki left Steve to it and barely had warning before Thor grabbed him and started to fly.

 

* * *

 

Darcy had run to the window to see if they would catch Thor and Loki leaving. Lo and behold Thor rose into the air with Loki held to his side, and Darcy couldn’t help but laugh because she could have sworn that Loki didn’t look too happy. They sat there in that room for a while, looking out the window.

“You’re very friendly with Loki. Anything I should know?” Jane asked. Darcy looked to her friend and laughed, shaking her head.

“No, no. We’re just friends. I’m just inappropriately hands-on with my friends, as you know,” Darcy said.

“Yes, I know,” Jane said, exasperated.

“I think he needs that, though. He seems uncomfortable with physical touch, but he doesn’t shake me off so I think he needs it,” Darcy said. “And I just show appreciation where it’s due. I can’t believe you didn’t give him a hug and a kiss.” Jane gave her a playful shove.

“Oh, shut up,” Jane said.

“If there’s at least one person appreciative of his efforts to be good, then he’ll be encouraged. Hopefully,” Darcy said.

“I’ll thank him when he gets back; I don’t know why I didn’t,” Jane said, laughing a little. Darcy flapped her hand at her.

“I doubt he expects it anyway; you forget, he used to protect Asgard along with Thor. It’s in his nature. His _true_ nature, even if he doesn’t realise it,” Darcy said.

“Oh?” Jane asked.

“Yeah. He isn’t as physically strong as Thor, but what he lacks in strength, he makes up in wit and magic. I bet Loki was the one to protect the group and attack from afar,” Darcy said.

“Do you spend a lot of time with him?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, we’ve been meeting up in secret since the first meeting, I guess. My TV wasn’t working so I used his and kinda forced him to watch and it went from there,” Darcy said. “He’s pretty nice once you get past the general doom and gloom.”

“It’s strange to think that he was the guy who caused the terror here. He just…seems so different,” Jane said.

“Loki’s gone through a lot and there are other factors that I can’t really describe right now, but regardless, he’s doing what he can to make amends, slowly but surely,” Darcy said. “I just hope Thor can have his brother back.”

“Maybe you’ve been good for him,” Jane said, a little surprised.

“Am I supposed to feel complimented or insulted?” Darcy teased. Jane laughed.

“No, I mean…he doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would allow others to dictate what he does. Thor’s a little the same, except he’s a bit more open and definitely warmer―in a more obvious way, that is. But maybe you’ve been an influencing factor,” Jane explained.

“I doubt it; like you said, he doesn’t seem easily swayed. All I’ve done is break into his room and forced him to watch films,” Darcy said, then in a very quiet tone. “And try to get him into bed.”

“WHAT?!” Jane almost shouted. Darcy waved her hands at her in a shushing motion.

“Sssh. No, I mean, I was drunk. On Halloween, I just…kissed him and tried to open his trousers up…he stopped me and forced me to go to sleep and left me in my room,” Darcy said.

“Oh, Darcy…” Jane said, chuckling.

“Thank God he’s a decent guy; if I were going to do it with him, I’d at least want to be sober,” Darcy said.

“Does that mean you _want_ to?” Jane asked.

“No! I just mean I don’t want my first time to be a haze,” Darcy said. Jane nodded with understanding.

“I’m just glad Thor’s culture doesn’t seem to have quite the pressure of being a ‘maiden’ before marriage and all of that. I’ve not been a ‘maiden’ for some time; it wasn’t a big deal for me, I’ve always been far too focussed on science to really give much time to relationships,” Jane said.

“Up until now,” Darcy smiled.

“Yeah…I’m still working hard, but I’m stepping away a lot more,” Jane said.

“I know! It was strange one night when I couldn’t sleep not finding you in the lab!” Darcy said. “Who are you and what have you done with Jane Foster?” Jane laughed. They finally decided to leave the room when a couple of agents came in and suggested they come with them to safety. Given the current situation, they weren’t going to ask questions.

 

* * *

 

Thor landed near to Tony Stark’s home in Malibu, wanting to work out what was happening and follow it from there. They couldn’t bring Jarvis with them, but they could probably get hold of Pepper. After working out that none of the assailants were there, they got closer and looked around at the damage. Thor’s phone started ringing and he carefully pressed the button and put it to his ear.

“Hello?” Thor asked. Loki could hear the person on the other end and had a bad feeling about this phone call. “What?! How dare- ** _how dare they_**?!” Thor’s voice rumbled and Loki didn’t even need to have heard the other side to know what had happened.

“I will be there soon,” Thor said, his voice clipped. Thor wasn’t one to stutter, which meant he was truly angry. He turned to Loki. “Jane and Darcy have been taken; they want every Avenger to return to the tower unless they wish them and the city to go up. That was Agent Romanov.” Loki blinked.

“Brother, she said **_Avenger_**. Every Avenger to return,” Loki said. Thor’s eyes lit up and he looked at Loki. Loki grinned wickedly and clapped his hand to his brother’s arm, feeling for the first time in a long time that feeling of brotherly might; that the two of them were an indestructible force. Even if Loki was currently in a mortal form, he felt that he had enough juice to get him through this. “You return there and pretend that you give in to their demands, begrudgingly of course, while I find Stark and do what I can. If need be, I might pretend to…sympathise with the enemy. But know this, if such comes to pass, I will not betray you. I swear upon my magic; I might not be completely over all of what has happened in the last few years, but you are my brother and I accept that.” Thor’s face became warm and Loki might have rolled his eyes in another situation.

“Thank you, brother. I am truly happy and glad to have you call me brother again and to call you brother without fear of rejection,” Thor said.

“When since have you had fear?” Loki teased.

“I think you and I have always held fear in regards to the other, just in different forms in different situations,” Thor said.

“My my, that was quite intuitive. Did you get that from mother?” Loki asked, earning himself a shove. He laughed. “I am sorry, for what it is worth. Truly.”

“You need not say it, brother. I know it,” Thor said, tapping his heart. “I may not have your brains, but when it comes to my little brother, I need only rest my faith on my instincts.” They shared a smile before Loki pushed him.

“Get going, birdbrain,” Loki said.

“Good luck, cowbreath,” Thor said.

Loki watched him fly off before bringing out his own phone and dialling Pepper’s number using the method Darcy showed him to cloak his number. It rang a number of times before he figured she wasn’t picking up. He ended the call and used his magic to track down her location before appearing in a hotel of some kind. He was invisible for the moment and saw the man snap another man’s neck before Loki could do anything and precede to try to choke Pepper. However, he realised before he got in there that they intended to use her to draw Stark in. He used magic to relieve the pressure on her neck and then followed them to what must have been their main base of operations. There Loki sent an invisible clone to find out all he could about what was going on while Loki focussed on Pepper. Since he was quite vulnerable himself he needed to get her out of there without confronting this Killian man. He strapped Pepper into some sort of device that reminded him of Frankenstein. He walked over to the side to retrieve a syringe before walking towards Pepper again, speaking some sort of nonsense that seemed to belong to one of Darcy’s action films that all seemed to blur into one. Loki knew that whatever was in that syringe would not be good and suddenly things became dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooorry another cliffy. -hides-


	15. I've always been here, I always will be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki helps Tony in the fight against Killian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Sorry for the wait, admittedly I've had more muse for Paths lately, but I haven't forgotten about this story or any of my others. <3 I honestly never meant to leave it this long; time flies too quickly. xD 
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and thank you to **Shadows_of_Shemai** (Sooorry XD It just...I couldn't resist. You'll see what happens now ;) ), **marshmallowdeviant** (;3), **Lauralina** (I'm really sorry, I know how you feel and I just got so caught up with RL and muse elsewhere. Bah. xD), **scarletwitch0** (Yes, I imagine I will eventually, but since that is...about a year and a bit later than where I am, you'll have a bit of a wait I'm afraid. I am incorporating CA1 and 2 into my other fic "Every story needs excitement" if you haven't read that yet, and it may make an appearance elsewhere, though I can't say anymore yet) and **RhianJones** (thank you!) for all of your wonderful comments!
> 
> I have a present for you! [This video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzvQOab2v7I) here is a vague video representation of the chapters. The clips are...well, not always fitting to the chapter contents, sometimes more towards the lyrics. For those who haven't noticed, I've been using lyrics for chapter titles and you can see the first seven in this vid. <3 I'm not very good at videos, but hey. 
> 
> Not sure how good this chapter is, the action might be rushed/naff/off and I kinda messed with the timings. I didn't realise how many days actually lapsed in the film before writing, but hopefully it sort of works anyway. Time is difficult anyway. However there's a little Easter Egg at the end of the chapter. Well, not a hidden Easter Egg I just mean like a treat. XD
> 
> Enjoy!

While the curtain of darkness sent most of the mortals into a panic, Loki used the time to rush forward and undo Pepper’s bindings before catching her in his arms.

“Stay quiet, it is me, Loki. You are safe,” he whispered into her ear before transporting himself away from the facility and to a safe location, leaving Killian and his men to deal with the darkness that Loki had shrouded them in. Loki put Pepper down, but kept his hands on her to make sure she wouldn’t fall over. “I am sorry, I had meant to get you out of there before he even took you, but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to find his base of operations.”

“It’s fine, that’s a smart move…was that you with my―,” Pepper started, rubbing her neck a little.

“I eased his hold on you with a little magic; it was all I could do,” Loki said.

“Thank you,” Pepper said, before letting out a great sigh and he held her closer, knowing that it had been a great ordeal and to narrowly miss it was almost as draining as experiencing it.

“The Avengers are being threatened by whoever this Killian is working with; it is the reason I am alone in my attempt to assist Stark and yourself,” Loki said. “They are holding Jane and Darcy hostage.” He couldn’t help the flint in his tone as he thought of Darcy being held by those people.

“Oh no…” Pepper said. “Then we’d better do something about it.”

“I will take you somewhere safe for the time being; I do not fancy Stark’s noise should something happen to you,” Loki said, half-seriously, half-humorously. There was only so much humour that could be placed into a situation like this. He imagined Stark was quite helpful for humour in times of desperate times, but right now, Loki couldn’t. Back in the days of old, Loki was quite well-known for either being serious in a situation or overly playful to the point of annoying. The old times were gone and he would approach everything according to his mood. Now to figure out _where_ to take Pepper that would be safe.

“Take me to Happy; it should be safe there,” Pepper said. “I have S.H.I.E.L.D. on speed dial if necessary.” Loki nodded and transported them both through magic, not knowing who Happy was, but since Pepper did, it was easy enough to do. He was in a hospital bed; hardly much help, but he supposed they would not find her here. Even then, she had S.H.I.E.L.D. on her phone.

“Put me down as another speed dial and call me if you need me,” Loki said. “As well as S.H.I.E.L.D., because I cannot guarantee anything.” Pepper nodded and he vanished.

Loki appeared in what appeared to be a shed where Stark was talking to a young boy. The boy took one look at him and backed up, looking around as if searching for a weapon.

“Hey, hey, relax, this guy’s on our side now,” Tony said, before looking at Loki. “So, you’re the only back up I have?”

“The Avengers have been compromised; Darcy and Jane have been taken hostage. Thankfully there was no order for my return to New York, as I am not an Avenger,” Loki said. “Pepper is safe; she was nearly taken by that man Killian, but she is with a man named Happy now…what an odd name.” Tony looked relieved and gestured for Loki to find a seat.

“I’m currently trying to fix my suit…and it’s late, so you might as well stick around,” Tony said.

“I will assist in any way possible, though I do not know how this suit works exactly, so I cannot be of much use right now,” Loki said. Tony waved his hand at him.

“S’okay, I’ve got it under control. Time, however, I haven’t. Oh, hey, this is Harley, Harley this is Loki, he’s kind of…he’s rehabilitating,” Tony said. Harley nodded, staring at Loki, still a bit unsure.

“This is going to be a long evening,” Loki said dryly.

 

* * *

 

Everything was going to plan as much as possible; the suit was charging and Tony had a whole bunch of things to help with his plan to unmask the Mandarin and get behind all of this. He was going to enter the mansion one way while Loki went through another way. Loki had no problem with this plan and found it oddly amusing to find out what all of his gadgets did. One of them reminded him of Darcy and he would definitely stay out of the way of that gadget in particular. These tasers meant business and he really didn’t want to experience one of those again. He wore a suit without a jacket as he snuck onto the premises, easily dodging the bullets and strangely amused by the varied reactions that came from the men; fear, annoyance, confusion…even those who worked in such a capacity felt fear. While he did not want people to fear him, he did not mind people like them feeling as such. They could do with understanding where they stood and having a healthy realisation that they should just surrender. Some did, holding up their hands and begging for mercy. He tied their wrists and ankles with ropes before moving on. Others who defied such common sense ended up on the floor incapacitated. He wouldn’t take another life unless it was truly necessary. In the end, it was easy to get into the base and he wondered how Tony was fairing. The man was resilient and had survived flying up into the wormhole, so Loki had a small amount of respect and trust for the man, but it only extended so far. Loki didn’t truly trust anyone. He only trusted Tony Stark’s ability to survive. At least so far.

Loki looked around the compound, finding nothing of use except for an abundance of men who either ended up unconscious or tied up. It was getting rather boring, really. He ended up stumbling across Tony chained to something with a metal frame with two men guarding him. Tony seemed to be trying to get the suit to come to him, but with no luck as the two men laughed. Loki stepped inside and the bullets went right through him as he phased.

“I would surrender, if I were you,” Loki said calmly. One of them backed up, dropping his gun and the other carried on. Loki sent magic at him and knocked him out while he tied the other up. He looked at Tony before releasing him from his bonds.

“Thanks; for some reason the suit is taking its time,” Tony said. They rushed out of the room and into the courtyard, where his suit parts started to finally come to him. Loki watched in fascination and wondered how the man could handle such a thing. Suit finally in place, they saw a dark-skinned man run out of the building too.

“Rhodey!” Tony called out. This Rhodey joined them, frowning at the sight of Loki.

“I am on your side,” Loki explained, which Tony confirmed. The sight of another suit flying off had them realise that it was definitely not a good thing. They made plans and the two men interrogated some drunk guy before they took the boat, which Loki used his magic to speed up.

“No offense or anything, but I just don’t understand how you’re walking free right now,” Rhodey asked.

“Odin has strange forms of punishment; my punishment is perhaps more invisible than visible,” Loki said. “Believe me; I am as much confused as most people are. Odin was never particularly merciful with punishments.” Silence fell between them, but not out of lack of understanding. It was nothing new to not know the reasons and machinations behind particular actions. It was practically the same punishment as Thor’s, except he had been made even less of a threat. With good reason, he knew. It was far too risky for Loki to be sent anywhere with his full power; sure, Loki didn’t actually want to hurt anyone, but who would believe the God of Lies? And he wasn’t even sure he _wouldn’t_ have hurt someone. He didn’t know who he was anymore. Before he could think anymore, they were where they needed to be and Tony sent his suit up there without even being inside of it. How fascinating; the technology in this realm was indeed rather advanced. He watched the events unfold, as the people were thrown out of the plane and quickly a plan was formed. Loki and Tony worked together to catch all of the people between them using his magic and Tony’s suit. In the end, all were successfully saved and Loki managed to conjure a boat for them to use and get back to safe ground. There was something gratifying about saving those lives; it was a feeling that shocked him. Of course, Tony managed to decimate his suit in the most idiotic of manners and now they were completely reliant on him. However, they soon got to the large ship that was holding the President locked in a rather strange manner. Of course he had transported them quite quickly from one place to the other this time and they soon got to work.

Luckily for them, Tony’s suits quickly made an appearance and it was quite a show the many metal suits put on. Tony’s friend had gone in with so much confidence and, well, perhaps a little superiority, since Tony knew little of their guns, yet now he was at a loss. Not allowed a suit and left to his own, quite inferior, devices. The man went straight for the President. Loki, on the other hand, ended up finding Killian. Killian looked at him for a moment before raising an eyebrow.

“You’re Loki, right? I heard you were in New York in the Avengers tower,” Killian said.

“Yes, but now I am here,” Loki said. “Your actions will end here.” Killian laughed.

“I’m sorry, but am I being lectured by a known mass-murderer? What I’m doing is far less despicable,” Killian said.

“Yes, well, I saw the error of my ways. So you have one chance to surrender,” Loki said. Killian grinned and his skin seemed to glow red. He took that as a no and blocked a ball of fire with shield magic. Loki fought with ice magic, though not of his Jotunn descent; the magic he learnt growing up. He tried to freeze him, but whatever was inside the man was too strong. The night was alight with the sounds of fighting, firing and yells. From what he could see, the President had been taken elsewhere. One less person to worry about, he just hoped that Tony could handle himself against the other strange mortals with these fiery powers. Loki was thrown back and attacked by another fire mortal and Tony took over the fight with Killian, using one of his many suits. This mortal was a lot weaker and he managed to burn him with fire, overloading him to the point where he couldn’t come back. So, Loki could harm those who threaten harm upon others. At least he wasn’t completely useless. Loki dodged another attack and, with the help of Tony’s many suits, most of the strange mortals were taken care of. Except for the one who seemed to be beating Tony down. He allowed his second skin to appear before sending an almighty blast of ice at the man. It stayed. Loki returned to his Asgardian skin and joined Tony. Killian was encased rather flatteringly within the ice.

“Will it stay?” Tony asked.

“Honestly, I have no clue,” Loki said. “However, usually when those encased are smashed, they _smash_ and die.” Tony seemed to think for a moment before pointing at Killian with both hands. Loki was glad they were a little away as the pieces glittered through the night. It was for the best; if he got out, he would only try again.

“Smart move…that and he attempted to do whatever that was to Miss. Potts,” Loki said.

“Then I have no regrets,” Tony said. He turned to Loki and smiled. “Thanks, you might have saved my life tonight. I don’t really liking admitting that I needed help, but, well…” He shrugged.

“I am the same. Chances are that you will get the same chance to save me, should you feel so inclined,” Loki said. “I am, after all, mortal. My magic tires me out more so in such a form.”

“Don’t I like, owe you now?” Tony asked. Loki shrugged.

“I do not believe in owing a debt unless you wish for it,” Loki said. “You need not repay the favour; I would not begrudge you such a chance to get rid of me.”

“You’re a decent guy, Loki. I think I’m starting to see what Thor is trying to say; the whole New York thing might have been out of character after all. In fact, I can’t really figure out how you’ve gone so quickly from psychopath to decent guy,” Tony said. Loki smiled.

“Let us not waste anymore breath on such a topic; I believe Pepper will wish to see you,” Loki said.

“Oh yeah. She’s probably going out of her mind right now; I don’t know how she puts up with me,” Tony said.

“Me neither,” Loki smirked.

“Hey, watch it, kid. You might be a decent guy, but you’re not into best of bros yet,” Tony said.

“First of all, I am much older than you and second, what makes you think I want to be ‘best of bros’ with you?” Loki asked.

“I can sense it,” Tony said.

 

* * *

 

“Tony!” Pepper called out when she saw him and Tony took her to a private room he was allowed because, you know, he’s Tony Stark. Tony pulled her into his arms and just held her.

“I’m sorry, Pepper. I’m always worrying you,” Tony said. He was glad Loki had gone back to New York to settle things. He hoped the God was raising hell. Oh dear. Tony managed not to show his amusement at the ironic thought. “I can’t really promise it won’t happen again. I mean, I could give up my suits, but…”

“No, Tony. If trouble comes again, you couldn’t defend yourself. Tony…I just want you to stop focussing all of your time on the suits. Talk to me. Talk to _someone_. I don’t care if it’s not me as long as you’re not hurting,” Pepper said. Tony kissed her, enjoying the moment as they showed affection for each other.

“I will. When we’re back on our feet, we’ll talk. I’ll talk to you about everything and I’ll also seek help. I’m not sure just talking to you will…” Tony said, uncomfortably, like it was wrong to suggest that Pepper couldn’t cure it all.

“Tony, I know. We’re there for each other and we’re strong for each other, but we’re not going to be able to help each other completely. That’s not how love works. We are everything to each other, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have good friends, hobbies, and so on. You need a psychiatrist; I know I probably couldn’t completely cure you, but I can help you,” Pepper said, smiling at him with that adorable smile that he loved. He pulled her into a hug and sighed.

“I guess we’re going to have to rebuild the house,” Tony said. “We’ll stay in New York for a while. It’ll be fun.”

“I don’t mind where we live, as long as we’re together, Tony,” Pepper said. Tony grinned.

 

* * *

 

It seemed Loki had nothing to do on arriving back at the tower; the rest of the Avengers had managed to get rid of the five or six fire-induced mortals that threatened Darcy and Jane. He was glad for it, of course. He found Thor with Jane and Darcy, the latter of whom ran to him and threw her arms around him, which was a surprise. He slowly and awkwardly patted her back, unsure what to do. He had never been much of a hugging person to begin with.

“Tony Stark is safely reunited with Miss. Potts, and the matter has been dealt with. I am sure S.H.I.E.L.D. is now doing a thorough job of tying up any loose ends. They will call me if anything becomes awry,” Loki said. Thor beamed and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Good work, brother; I knew I could count on you,” Thor said, which brought a smile to his own face. Things were at least looking up and Loki was thinking that maybe, just maybe, he could re-find happiness.

“Hey,” Darcy said, not in greeting but as an interruption. Loki looked down at the girl who still held onto his sides as she looked up at him. “I’m glad you’re alright.” Loki laughed.

“I may be mortal, but I am still quite capable of protecting myself,” Loki said.

“You are so full of it,” Darcy said.

“Yet you are still clutching me,” Loki smirked.

“You saved my life! I’m grateful!” Darcy complained. Loki pulled her into a hug.

“Who else would invade my privacy if I let you die?” Loki teased playfully.

“You’re an asshole,” Darcy joked.

“And the balance is restored,” Loki said, pulling back. “Come, let us see what we can do about the tower.” Loki looked around and started using his magic to fix the lounge to how it was before the explosion. He made sure the roof and everything affected was back to normal before going down to the ground floor to fix the lobby. Then his phone rang and he picked it up. “Hello?”

“Hey, so, how’s it looking over there?” Tony asked.

“The perpetrators were dealt with and I am currently fixing up your tower,” Loki said.

“Oh, good, good. So everyone’s okay? How about Ava and Leo?” Tony asked.

“All are fine; the Captain had contacted a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to check up on them and all is well,” Loki said.

“Great news. Okay, so we’re going to take a day or two before we get back there, so don’t burn the house down while I’m away,” Tony said.

“Yes, mother,” Loki said.

“Hey,” Tony said. “I’m clearly the father figure.”

“No you’re not,” he heard Pepper say in the background.

“Everyone’s conspiring against me,” Tony muttered before hanging up. Loki smirked.

 

* * *

 

“Where are we going, Tony?” Pepper asked, unable to see due to the blindfold Tony had put over her eyes. He was leading her somewhere and she wasn’t really one for this type of thing. She couldn’t work out where they were and she had been clueless to their destination from the moment they stepped into their private jet, all the windows covered. They were dressed up quite fancily after Tony had given her a wrapped present of a beautiful dress she had admired for a while. He was in his best tuxedo and now they were in a building. That’s all she could gather. Then they stopped and he finally took the blindfold off. She was presented with a beautiful sight of a fancy restaurant.

“Le Meurice, in Paris. I thought you’d like it,” Tony said.

“Oh, Tony, I _love_ it. I’ve heard so much about this place,” Pepper said. She kissed him before they were interrupted by one of the finely dressed men waiting to show them a table. They were taken to a table next to a window on the upper floor, quite sparsely used by other patrons, but no one close to them.

“I asked them to keep the area clear; it’s so much better when you have more space to yourself,” Tony said, holding out the chair for her to sit down. She was pretty sure it wasn’t her birthday. A Christmas treat? She sat down and he sat opposite her, before asking the waiter to bring them a bottle of their finest red wine.

“Tony, what is this all about?” Pepper asked.

“Do I really need a reason to take my gorgeous and very talented girlfriend out to dinner?” Tony asked. Pepper laughed with a blush.

“Well, no. I just…Oh, I’m just on a high! It’s been a crazy, crazy week,” Pepper said.

“Then what better reason to forget such a week? And with red wine, thank you, that was quite fast, you’re getting even more of a tip,” Tony said to the waiter.

“Anything else, sir?” The waiter asked.

“How about some nibbles? A little platter of nibbles, preferably with some very French items, because I haven’t actually tried much French food,” Tony said.

“Of course, sir,” the waiter said before going off to fulfil their request.

“I love this place already,” Tony said. Pepper smiled as he took her hands over the table; he wasn’t usually so gushy. Pepper took hold of the menu with her other hand and started to peruse it.

“It all looks so good,” Pepper said.

“We could choose two and share,” Tony said, picking up one of the nibbles and eating it.

“That sounds like a nice idea,” Pepper smiled. They’d had meals before, but nothing quite like this. It was wonderful. Tony asked the waiter over and made their orders. It was a wonderful evening and after they finished their desserts, Tony stood up and walked over to her side of the table.

“Pepper, there’s something I gotta do,” Tony said. Pepper looked up at him and then down at him as he knelt down on one knee before pulling out a small box. Her eyes widened. “Pepper, you’re everything to me, the perfect woman, the one woman I can see myself with for the rest of time or at least until I annoy you so much that I end up in a bodybag…I love you, and, Pepper Potts, I want to ask you…will you marry me?” She could feel tears in her eyes as he asked and her hands were clutching her face, so very shocked and overwhelmed, before she beamed and nodded, trying to get the words out.

“Yes…yes!” Pepper said, the tears rolling down her cheeks from the joy. He took her hand and placed the most beautiful ring on her finger. Silver gold, her favourite, and if she knew Tony, and she did, it was probably very expensive. She wrapped her arms around him then and hugged him. He stood up and stepped away from the table before spinning her around. Then they spent the rest of the evening dancing on the dance floor, surrounded by other happy couples.

It was the best day of her life.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeee. 
> 
> Hope you liked that! 
> 
> I have like five Ao3 invites, and I don't know how to give them out fairly. So I'm on Tumblr as GyoroandUrurun and if anyone wants an invite, drop me an ask to request one. If you want, you could let me know what you think of the fic, but that's optional. =3 Those who don't manage to get an invite, apologies in advance. I'll try and get some more. ;3 
> 
> Until next time!


	16. I was just beginning to see your ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usually it's boyfriends you take home to meet your parents. Well, Darcy was never completely conventional.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Sorry for the late update guys, but this is a fluffy chapter and hopefully cute. 
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and thank you to **MistressofLoki** (yeah, and Darcy, he's only trying to be a gentleman. xD and yeah, those two need each other, brothers forever  <3 It was a bit rushed, I know that, I just didn't want to bore anyone with similar events. Pepperony wedding on the horizonnn), **RhianJones** (glad to hear! I like the idea of Tony and Loki getting on well, so hopefully they'll get there here), **Shadows_of_Shemai** (I didn't want her going through that and I couldn't see Loki _not_ being able to stop it. Dude can teleport and shit xD annnd probably in usual Tony Stark style. Not kept a secret even for a second), **Shalifi** (never fear she will do one day, I just couldn't have her dosed up because, well, Loki could have easily prevented it. Let's face it she's badass without it. There isn't a single non-kickass female in this fandom I think XD), **MyScarletLetter** (I'll make sure their presence in the same room gets worse...poor everyone. Probably especially Bruce and Pepper and Steve and Thor...everyone basically), **marshmallowdeviant** (x] why, Loki gets dragged where he doesn't want to be dragged of course!) and **rockneverfalls** (of course! Pepperony will always have a fancy wedding) for all of your comments! They make me smile.  <3
> 
> This chapter is mostly fluff, but a bit of angst. You'll know when that happens and I was listening to When the darkness comes by Colbie Caillat, love it so much and it's fitting. <3 
> 
> I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up, I'm on holiday for two weeks then I will be updating my other fics. I do my best to get it up much sooner than the last wait. XD God that was too long, sorry guys! Thanks so much for your patience, I just can't believe how many people enjoy this story, I never expect much from my stories. XD <3
> 
> Enjoy!

Darcy and Jane had luckily gotten reimbursed for their ruined shopping (thank you Tony’s insurance policy) and they went shopping again. This time with protection, though they had to ask Steve to wait outside while they got his present. They had even managed to find them even better presents than the first time, which was a bonus. Darcy had fun wrapping all of them and she couldn’t wait to see what Loki thought of his present. She was excited; Thor and Loki had never experienced Christmas before and she wanted them to have a wonderful impression of it. Even though it had started out so badly; it was like Christmas in Doctor who, except no robots. Loki was feeling happy, so there were no more robots to worry about for the time being.

Thor had apparently told Loki of the gift-giving tradition, but he had just shrugged. So much for cheerful Loki, though Darcy didn’t care. As long as he celebrated with her, she didn’t need any gifts. Now all they had to do was wait for Christmas day. Arrrgh. Darcy really hated waiting, though the worst was Christmas Eve. She was such a big child. However, in the meantime she had her family to visit. This would be the first time she spent it away from her family. It would be weird, but great too. So she went in to find Loki, who she was still watching television and movies with. He was, of course, in his room.

“Hey, Loki! Just letting you know you’ll have to go a few days without my wonderful presence,” Darcy said. “I’ll be back in like two days, so late 24th. Think you can manage that long?”

Loki shook his head from where he was sat. “Really, Darcy, I can look after myself,” Loki said.

“I don’t know, you know? I mean, are you eating right? You’re skin and bones,” Darcy joked, poking his stomach and he grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to him before he tickled her sides. Then she was in hysterics, trying to get away from him. She squeaked as she felt hands grab her arms too and saw it was a Loki clone. That was kinda freaky and evil!! Now she couldn’t escape. It ended up with her kicking at his chest and begging for mercy. The clone disappeared and she breathed easier.

Darcy twacked him. “Evil!” Darcy said. “Bad Loki, bad!”

“Fun, though. Where are you going?” Loki asked.

“Back to Virginia where my family lives,” Darcy said. “I just need to buy some impromptu tickets.”

“I could take you there in seconds,” Loki said.

“You rock. You know, you could come if you like,” Darcy said. Loki raised his eyebrows.

“I doubt very much they would like me in their house,” Loki said.

“Eh, they’ll come around,” Darcy said. “Let’s just see what happens, eh? Now, let’s go and tell Thor before we get the heck out of here.”

Thor was as jovial and excited as expected, and they managed to get away from him in order to actually _go_ to her place. She took her little bag and pictured her place before Loki zapped them outside her door instantly.

“I really do love your magic; it’s so useful,” Darcy said.

She knocked on the door since she didn’t want to go in with Loki in tow before her parents allowed it. She waited and looked at Loki for a moment, whose face was unreadable, before her mom opened the door. She lit up and hugged Darcy, not even seeing the former super-villain stood right next to her. “Hi mom, so glad to see you!” Darcy said.

“Good to see you! I’ve been so worried about you after hearing about your building being under attack!” Her mom said.

“I’m sorry, it’s been crazy, but I wouldn’t be alive without this guy here,” Darcy said. “Just…mom, don’t freak out.”

Her mom pulled back and took a look at her companion, who smiled a little and even waved. What a cutie. “Hello, Mrs. Lewis,” Loki said.

Her mom’s eyes were wide as she looked at Loki. “You’re―” She started.

“Mom, he’s not the man he was last July, just…” Darcy said.

“You’re the one who saved my Princess?” Her mom asked.

“Er, I suppose I did,” Loki said, uncomfortable with the attention. Her mom then pulled him into a hug, which she took a picture of because his face was priceless. He patted her back before she pulled away, smiling up at him.

“Thank you so much, oh! Come in, you two,” she said, ushering them into the house.

Darcy led him into the lounge and put her bag down, telling him to take a seat before she plopped herself down next to him. He was looking around with interest before he summoned something to him. To her horror, it was her baby picture. She tried to prise it out of his hands, but he managed to catch her wrists in one hand, holding them down as he took a look.

“Oh! Yes, that was Darcy when she was just one-year-old, oh how she’s grown,” her mom said. Let the ground swallow her up, please please please!

Her mom handed him a whole photo album and he let go of her wrists…sort of. They seemed to be stuck with magic as he perused her baby photos. Oh my God this was embarrassing.

“You’re so mean and you play dirty!” Darcy said.

“I am sure you are not shy to playing dirty, Darcy,” Loki said. He looked up. “Thank you, Mrs. Lewis.”

“Just call me Rachel,” she said. “Would you like a drink? We have beer, wine, orange juice, lemonade, cider and hot drinks.”

“Could I have a red wine, please?” Loki asked.

“Same for me,” Darcy said.

“Coming right up,” her mom said, leaving the room.

“I’m going to need my hands so I can drink this, you know,” Darcy said.

“We will cross that bridge when the wine comes,” Loki said. “You were most adorable.”

Darcy tried to lean over the pictures instead, but he pushed her back with magic. Oh, she just wanted a hole in the ground to appear and swallow her up. He was doing this deliberately because he knew it would wind her up. Asshole. Her mom returned and she felt her hands loosened from their hold enough to take hold of the glass. She glared at Loki as her mom sat down in the armchair.

“So Darcy, you got a new job?” Her mom asked.

“Yeah, so it’s kinda top secret…just with the people involved in, uh,” Darcy said, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“There is a secret agency that works to keep the world safe from threats such as myself. At least, back when I was a threat,” Loki said. “It is a long story, but I assure you that I mean no further harm on anyone.”

“My daughter isn’t one to bring home people she doesn’t trust, and I trust my daughter. Besides, you saved Darcy’s life, I owe you everything,” her mom said. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

“Jane and I went Christmas shopping and returned to the tower. We saw on the TV in the lobby that Stark’s home in Malibu had been attacked and then these two people came in asking about Captain America and Thor. Suddenly everything exploded, but we were fine…Loki had jumped on top of us and shielded us from the blast with magic. It was pretty heroic,” Darcy said.

She told her mother what else happened and by the end, she looked as if she wanted to hug Loki again. Then her dad returned home and was horrified by the sight of Loki in the living room. Darcy had to quickly explain and stop him from phoning the police. Her mom got him to sit down and then made him a drink before Darcy told him the story too. It took a little time, but he soon came around.

“You two aren’t…” Her dad said, nearly making her spit her drink out.

“No! We’re just friends, jeez dad, girls can have guy friends,” Darcy said.

“Darcy, I’m not blind,” he said. “He’s a handsome young man and you’re sat quite close to him.”

Darcy moved away, not having realised she had been sitting so close. “Only because I was trying to stop him looking through my baby photos,” Darcy huffed.

Her dad just looked at her mom, who was staring pretty intently into her drink. He shook his head.

 

* * *

 

After a pretty damn good lunch, her older sister and younger brother dropped by. They would be staying where she would be returning to the tower for Christmas Eve. Although, she would probably invite her family over to the tower and they would likely be starstruck. Maybe. Now doubt her mom would make lots of embarrassing comments. As soon as her sister saw Loki, she walked up to him and slapped him.

“That’s for New York…otherwise, welcome to our home. Your friends, however, aren’t invited,” Marlene said.

While Marlene wasn’t dumb, she was more the pretty one of the family, getting all of the better features while Darcy had the weird and goofy ones. Only thing Darcy did have better than Marly was that she was a cup size up. Not that it really did her any favours. Marly had big smoky grey eyes inherited from their maternal grandmother, that were often surrounded by a perfect dash of make-up, and the same dark brown hair as Darcy. Basically, a vision of beauty, particularly with her taller, yet skinnier frame. Her brother George, on the other hand, had their dad’s brown hair and their mom’s brown eyes. He was the artist of the family.

“Hello to you too. I assure you those metal beasts are no friends of mine, if you have not seen my public apology,” Loki said.

“Don’t care, someone needed to do that,” Marlene shrugged.

“I did tase him on our first meeting…in my defence, he freaked me out,” Darcy said.

“Like that Thor guy did?” Marlene teased. Darcy shrugged and Loki laughed.

“I can see the resemblance very much so between the two of you,” Loki said. “I must say, though, I am truly sorry for my actions.”

“Do you really wear those horns or are they photoshopped?” George asked.

“They are very much real,” Loki said.

“Awesome, they’re pretty cool,” George said. “Show us!”

Loki chuckled and phased into his armour including helmet. He had been wearing a shirt and smart trousers for a while now rather than his Asgardian garb, so it was certainly nice seeing his Asgardian clothes. George was pretty fascinated by the helmet and she could tell that he wanted to sketch them. Or worse. Now her mom had decided to get out the camera and started taking pictures. Loki had even let George wear his helmet. Eighteen years old and still a big kid. Then of course he had to put his helmet on her. Good god it was heavy! She looked good in it, though. Asgardians and their crazy headwear, not that she had seen Thor’s, mind.

After the helmet fun, they decided to play a fun game of cards and then monopoly. For someone who had never played it before, Loki was a damned cheeky winner and had not shown any mercy. George had backed out when he was close to bankruptcy, shoving his remaining funds and properties onto Marlene, who was the next to go down, though for real, as she wasn’t one to back out. Darcy was tempted to back out every time she saw Loki’s damned smirk. However, he wiped the floor clean with her and they called it a day. Loki then suggested chess and Darcy pretended to keel over.

Darcy noticed that Loki was pretty happy here, particularly when her family asked him about his magic. He was so overjoyed that they were so interested; it was like he didn’t get this back home. Maybe he didn’t. Darcy asked loads of questions all the time so most of what he was answering wasn’t new to her.

“There was, uh, footage of you in Stuttgart…you can really make clones of yourself? How does it work? Are they just like…robots, mindless and all or can you actually see and feel stuff like it were you…if that makes sense?” George asked.

“I can make corporeal and incorporeal copies of myself; the latter uses up less magic than the former. I can experience everything those copies experience, though they also work on their own to how I would work…so, for example, if I had a clone in the kitchen with your mother, assisting her in cooking, the clone would, I suppose, be working as if on autopilot, I believe you would call it. It would act exactly how I would act and I could cut off sensory experience with it to, ah, de-clog my own senses. The more clones I have and the more of their senses I am experiencing at once, the more difficult it is. So I tend to have them on the automatic, tuning in when I want or if they pull up something important. If your mother, and touch wood she would not, of course, cut her finger, my clone would react exactly how I would: take her hand and heal it while assuring her that it will be alright. And so on,” Loki said.

“That is pretty darn cool and I wish I could do that. I’d get so much more done!” George said. “Plus I can send the clone to class if I couldn’t be bothered myself.”

Loki laughed. “I sometimes sent one into the dull meetings we had…if my mother was there, I would usually be called up on it,” Loki said. “Nothing escapes her.”

“She’s your mom, of _course_ nothing escapes her notice,” Darcy smirked.

“Indeed,” Loki said.

 

* * *

 

After a hearty dinner and some more family games, they all turned in for the night. Loki had insisted he would sleep in the lounge rather than inconvenience anyone, but since all the rooms had double beds, the sisters shared Marlene’s room and Loki slept in Darcy’s room, even though Darcy was a little reluctant, if only to stop him nosing around. Loki did that a little anyway before going to sleep. He had another dream.

This one was of the time he went into the weapons vault to confirm his fears and when Odin confronted him. Their conversation, which escalated the more Loki became distressed. However, watching the conversation as a third party observer, he had that feeling again. Like someone was in the corner of his vision, but every time he turned, it was gone. It was maddening and unsettling, not knowing what it was. He couldn’t even be sure whether it was a danger to him. It would not surprise him if it was Thanos. Loki really needed to do something about this, something to block out someone like Thanos from getting hold of his mind again. The presence stopped after a while and he carried on watching his memory like a bad film. Except it was unfortunately real.

The next thing he knew, he was back in Darcy’s room, with Darcy’s hands on him and her eyes wide.

“Loki! Wake up!” Darcy said. Loki took hold of her elbows gently and looked around, bewildered.

“What?” Loki asked sleepily. He noticed her family seemed to be in the doorway.

“Loki, you were having a nightmare…something between screaming and talking in your sleep, it was horrible…” Darcy said. She looked at her family and nodded. “It’s okay, you guys go back to sleep…”

“Maybe he wants a hot chocolate?” Her mom asked.

“I will be…alright, thank you…just return to sleep, I do not wish to disturb you further,” Loki said groggily. Her family slowly shuffled out until it was just the two of them with the door shut.

“What did you…do you want to talk about it?” Darcy asked.

“I…it was of the time I found out I was a Frost Giant…I did not realise I would react so much in my sleep, it was just…a replay of memory,” Loki murmured. Darcy pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. She seemed to do that a lot. He wrapped his arms around her and let his head drop onto her shoulder. She was good to him. Really good to him.

“I’m sorry, I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through…” Darcy said. There was a pause before she spoke again. “Can I see it? Your Frost Giant form.”

“I would rather people not see…it was bad enough having to unleash it to freeze Killian,” Loki said.

“Awww, come on. Please? We’re friends, right?” Darcy asked.

“I have not even shown Thor,” Loki said.

“All the more reason. Loki, I bet however you look, it is better than you think,” Darcy said. “You’ve grown up hating them, I’ve grown up reading sci fi and fantasy fiction. Please? I’ll flash you.”

“Flash me? I do not understand,” Loki said.

“It is where someone briefly lifts up their shirt or pulls down their trousers and so on to show you their privates…sometimes not briefly,” Darcy said. Loki actually went pink at that.

“Mortals do that?” Loki asked.

“It’s…sometimes for a laugh, sometimes harassment…there’s a fine line. Earth’s kinda fucked up. A lot, really. You’ll see in time. But yeah,” Darcy said.

Loki shook his head. “No, I do not…I am sure your privates are quite something, but…no,” Loki said, eyes closed, wincing as if he was in pain.

Darcy reached over to him and her fingers froze when she saw his skin turning blue, little ridges appearing particularly on his forehead. She gasped when she saw his red eyes. Were they _glowing_?! Oh my God they were glowing! Darcy saw the blue appear on his hands and oh my. He had these ridges in two semi-circle shapes, in the shape of a smile rather than a frown. Kind of like the metal circle on his usual Asgardian garb. He looked…he looked so uncomfortable, like he would cry. They really did a number on him; he was terrified of being rejected. She carried on her hands’ journey and cupped his face, making him jump with a gasp before trying to pull away from her.

“No! No, do not touch, it will…I will burn you,” Loki gasped, panicking.

Darcy dropped her hands and instead took his hand, holding it within hers, staring at him with a determined expression. It was cold, but he made it sound so much worse. She took one hand away to pull him back towards her.

“Loki, you made it sound like you were supposed to be monstrous. All I see is Loki with blue skin. You look handsome, Loki,” Darcy said.

She put her hands on his cheeks, stroking the ridges with her thumbs. She leant up and kissed his forehead before pulling him into another hug. She just held him there for a long time, not wanting to let him go. Loki needed this and it wasn’t really a pain. No, there was plenty of heating in the house and besides, she didn’t feel the cold quite as easily as others.

They ended up falling asleep together, because she woke up next to him, and man, did he look sweet when he slept. Loki was back to looking his usual pale self, but seeing him like that…honestly, she didn’t expect him to give in. No matter how much she wanted to see it, she wouldn’t force it on him. She stroked his face and after a few minutes he woke up, bleary-eyed and with an awesome bed head. Dammit she didn’t have her phone on her or she would have taken a picture. Oh! She quickly grabbed his phone and typed 5654 into the password screen and got in. Ha. Bless him, he didn’t know what to use as a password so he used his own name. She quickly took a picture or twenty, managing to keep Loki at bay, who was trying to get the phone off of her to the point where he was sat on her stomach. She was just emailing the pictures to her email address when she felt something sticking into her stomach.

She looked down, as did Loki, and she had never seen him move so fast. Okay, he teleported, but man that was quick. Right across the room and all. Darcy sat up and carried on emailing the pictures before getting up and crossing over to him, wrapping an arm around his neck and taking a picture of them both. Hilariously he was like a deer caught in headlights. Seriously, he was such a cute sleepy Asgardian…Frost Giant, whatever. Loki seemed to be taking deep breaths and she laughed.

“Sorry…look, don’t worry so much, it’s your body’s natural response to…erm, well, I don’t know really, but look, it’s okay, just chill, eh?” Darcy said, smiling at him. “Come on, get dressed and let’s go downstairs for breakfast, my little snow monkey.”

He rolled his eyes at her.

 

* * *

 

After breakfast, Darcy and Marlene washed up the dishes (apparently Asgardians ate even more than teenage/any boys), and Marlene smiled at Darcy.

“Sooo, Loki. Do you, you know. Like him?” Marlene asked.

“What? Why would you think that; we’re just friends,” Darcy said.

“Oh? So he’s available?” Marlene asked.

“I guess,” Darcy said. “I don’t know whether he’s up for anything like that, to be fair.”

“Aww, Darcy, I know you like him, it’s so obvious,” Marlene said. Darcy splashed some water at her before finishing with the last dish.

“Get off it,” Darcy said.

“Have you kissed him?” Marlene asked. Darcy looked at her shocked.

“Wh-whu…” Darcy spluttered.

“You have!” Marlene said.

“Fine. Once was a thank you kiss for saving my life after trying to stop him falling off a building. Just random. Second was a drunken kiss, woulda done it to anyone I’m sure,” Darcy said.

“Sure thing, Darce,” Marlene said.

 

* * *

 

Quite frankly Darcy was glad to get away from her sister’s questions and annoying false predictions. Urgh. Always trying to match-make her. Thank God their mom didn’t know or it’d be double trouble. She wasn’t glad to leave, but certainly glad to be away from the suspicious looks from her sister as she made her way back to the tower that evening.

Christmas tomorrow!

 

 


	17. If snow won’t change your mind, let it fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone in Stark tower have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’m sorry for the late update, but Merry Christmas! I hope you guys enjoy this! This is an extra special chapter; my present to you!
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and thanks to **Shadows_of_Shemai** (naw, “touch wood” is correct, but the same meaning as “knock on wood”. I think “touch wood” is British, while “knock on wood” is American? It was pretty weird using the word “mom” since that’s mostly American and I’m British, but since it was from Darcy’s POV, it was necessary~ xD You’re welcome! Glad you’re enjoying it!), **Anna** (Sorry it’s so late! Been very busy lately. Happy you’re liking it. :D), **rockneverfalls** (haha yeah. They have it bad~~), **marshmallowdeviant** (Just you wait ‘til you read this chapter. :3), **RhianJones** (Hope this is worth the wait!), **ewhitear** (Glad you’re enjoying it! Makes me feel happy when people like my stories. :3), **MyScarletLetter** (He totally is a snow monkey. Heerrrr snow monkey. ;) ), **Shalifi** (:3 and yeah, poor Loki. He was so made up her family liked his magic so much and Darcy’s the observant type), **Icee** (better a late update than never I hope! Thanks for reading!) and **clinozoisite** (It would have been earlier, but I read your comment and realised, yes! In time for Christmas!) for all your comments, they make me so happy! 
> 
> Hopefully I’ve not missed any commenters out there.
> 
> Without further ado~

Darcy woke up fairly early the next morning and jumped out of bed, quickly getting dressed before leaving her room. She walked over to the Jarvis console and leant against the wall.

“Morning Jarvis, is anyone else up?” Darcy asked.

“I believe Mr. Stark and Miss. Potts are awake, and the former is planning to, shall we say, wake everyone else up,” Jarvis said.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Darcy said.

“Does anything involving my employer? Miss. Potts is currently postponing the inevitable,” Jarvis said.

Darcy laughed. “You’re funny, Jarvis. Make sure he’s paying you well,” Darcy said.

“Oh, he could not afford me if I were charging,” Jarvis said.

Darcy walked away chuckling, going straight to Jane’s room and knocking. After some time, she finally answered the door. “Darcy? Couldn’t this wait until later?” Jane asked sleepily.

“Not really. It’s either you get woken up by me or by Tony…and all I know is that won’t be pretty,” Darcy said. Jane sighed.

“I really do hope he and Loki don’t become friends,” Jane said. “I’ve heard enough about Loki’s past exploits to know that it’d be a nightmare.”

“He’s the God of Mischief, what do you expect? Besides, Thor’s not exactly an angel either,” Darcy said, before clearing her throat. “Hammer, hammer!”

Jane shook her head, but laughed. “No, Thor’s no better. And together they’re probably menaces,” Jane said. She lightened up and hugged Darcy. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas to you too!” Darcy said. “Okay, time to get the boys up I think.”

Darcy knocked briefly on Loki’s door before entering his room and going over to his bed. He was sleeping on his stomach. She was so tempted to jump on him like a little child, but she resisted the urge. Instead she nudged him.

“Loki, it’s Christmas, wakey wakey. Don’t make me jump on top of you,” Darcy said.

She heard him make some noise and knew he was waking up. Sort of. He was still refusing to get up…sooo she belly-flopped on top of him. He groaned again and she squeaked as he rolled over onto his back and she slid a little off him. He pulled her back up and gazed up at her.

“Do that again and I will put you under a tickling spell…for all eternity,” Loki said and Darcy instantly left his bed uttering a few curses.

“Just get up and get ready, it’s Christmas!” Darcy said, closing his door behind her.

He was instantly beside her seconds later, fully dressed. Darcy jumped a little in fright; she wished he wouldn’t do that! However, trying to get Loki to do something or not to do something was one of those things that probably wouldn’t happen easily. He smirked and she sighed; okay, so she kind of deserved that.

“Let’s go!” Darcy said, taking hold of his hand and pulling him through the corridor. It was then that they heard Christmas music being blasted through every available Jarvis port. Poor sleeping souls who now probably wanted Tony dead. She’d say poor Tony, to be killed on Christmas Day, but he brought it on himself. Thor and Jane joined them in the elevator and she could tell Thor was very excited. Darcy knew Loki had opened up to the idea of it all, but he was usually the calmer one anyway. He showed his excitement differently, which was no surprise. Everyone was different!

They got to the lounge, and Tony and Pepper were already there. It was 9am, but most people liked to have a lie in on this day…not that she was innocent, of course. Belly-flopping Loki wasn’t exactly mature. Undoubtedly she would get the favour returned some day. She was still waiting on the prank war she had initiated; it had been a long wait, but clearly he wanted to try and take her off-guard. She was ready for him; bring it!

She was quite sure she would regret those words one day.

Darcy and Jane sat between the two brothers on a four seater sofa and watched as the other occupants of the tower shuffled in. Steve and Bruce looked ready to celebrate, but the two agents looked like they were stumbling in on a foreign holiday. Steve sat down next to Tony and Pepper, Bruce sat in an armchair and the two agents sat in a two-seater. Christmas music played faintly in the background and Tony passed around some Christmas crackers while everyone exchanged greetings.

“How shall we do this, open up presents one by one or just make a fine mess?” Tony asked.

“Perhaps hand out each person’s presents at once, so for example, mine get given out and then so on,” Loki said.

“Thanks for volunteering, Loki’s first!” Tony said.

Loki stood up and walked over to the tree, taking a green tinsley bag from underneath it and returning to the circle of chairs. He took out a box that was in the shape of a pizza box, but bigger. He handed that to Steve. Steve opened it and then the box it was in to find a shield just like his current one.

“It is made of Asgardian metal, far stronger than your current shield,” Loki said.

Steve’s eyebrows raised and he looked up at Loki with a smile. “Thanks, this is really thoughtful,” Steve said.

“It won’t protect you from fangirls, nothing is immune to them,” Tony said, making Steve go a little pink.

“Your Iron Man suit is, though,” Darcy sniggered.

“Hey, don’t dis the suit!” Tony said.

“Which brings me onto your present,” Loki said, clicking his fingers. Tony’s suit flew out into the lounge and the look on Tony’s face was priceless.

“My suit! You ruined it!” Tony said. It was baby pink and white.

“Perfect,” Clint said. He hadn’t quite warmed up to Loki as much as the others had, but there was definitely less hostility. Loki had gone to him long ago and personally apologised.

Loki turned it back to its initial state. “That was a joke,” Loki said. He found a long box and handed it to Tony. “This and I have fortified your suits with magic. They should be much stronger now.”

Tony opened the present and the box to find a bottle of something, though the writing was foreign.

“A whiskey from Nidavellir…the dwarves are exceptional whiskey makers,” Loki said.

“Whoa, wow, thanks,” Tony said.

Loki brought out a couple more boxes and gave a smaller one to Natasha and a bigger one to Clint. Natasha got a set of small, dwarf-made knives and Clint a dwarf-made crossbow and arrows. Loki gave two boxes to Pepper, one small one that turned out to be a device she could use to defend herself and the other some Asgardian wine.

“Now I have something to throw at Tony when he decides to wake me up too early,” Natasha said, casually flipping it in her hand. Clint pretended to aim his bow at Tony.

“At least you don’t have to share a room with him,” Pepper said, examining the device.

“Next year, I’m getting all of you coal,” Tony said.

Thor laughed, enjoying the merriment. “Come now, it is all in good fun,” Thor said.

Loki handed Bruce and Jane their presents, a box of minerals and such from other realms to examine for Bruce and a telescope from Vanaheim for Jane.

“Oh my—” Jane said, looking at Loki.

“You will see much further with that,” Loki smiled.

“Thank you!” Jane said, actually giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek.

“You are most welcome,” Loki said.

“Thanks, Loki. This will be fascinating,” Bruce said. He gave him a nod.

Loki gave a box to Thor and Thor grimaced when he saw what was inside it. “Very funny Loki!” Thor said.

“Think you not that it is better than the last trick present I gave you?” Loki asked.

“I am not so sure,” Thor said. Loki laughed and gave him his real present.

“Disneyland?” Thor asked. “What is this?”

“A theme park; you should take Jane there, and I have also booked you in for a fancy meal on Valentine’s day. The trip is for two weeks in February,” Loki said, as he knew Thor had plans to take Jane to Asgard for the New Year. How sad that he would not be able to join them there, but he would at least have his friends here.

“Thank you, brother, this is wonderful!” Thor said.

Loki nodded and gave Darcy her present. He watched her open it and her eyes widened before she looked up at him.

“I can’t accept this! It’s too much…” Darcy said, staring at the golden necklace, earrings and bracelets he had gotten her, each embedded with a green elven gem.

“Yes, you can. And you will,” Loki said. “Unless…you do not like it?”

“No, I love it, but…” Darcy gasped.

“Then it is yours,” Loki smiled. Darcy got up and hugged him.

“Who’s presents next?” Tony asked.

“Mine,” Darcy said, rushing over to the tree and pulling a sack over. “They won’t be as fancy as Mr. Fancypants here, but there you go…”

“For Jane,” Darcy said with a smile, handing a present over.

Jane opened it and started spluttering, going red. “D-Darcy!” Jane gasped.

Everyone but Jane and Thor laughed when they saw the plaque reading “Hammertime in progress: do not disturb!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Darcy said, handing her another present. She also handed out Natasha’s, Clint’s, Bruce’s, Steve’s, Tony’s and Pepper’s.

“Thanks, Darcy,” Jane said. “This is great.”

She gave Thor a little box. He opened it and looked at it in confusion while Jane went red again. Loki laughed and whispered in his ear what it was, which made Thor laugh. “Oh, Darcy, between you and my brother!” Thor said.

“Ribbed for extra pleasure!” Darcy snickered. “Here’s the real one.”

Thor was quite happy with his large glass tankard for beer and a six pack of beer to go with it.

Darcy turned to Loki and gave him her present, looking a little worried. “Uh, it’s kind of embarrassing now, it’s…so lame in comparison to yours,” Darcy said.

Loki took it and smiled. “Darcy, I believe it is the thought that counts, no? What is the point in getting each other something of equal value when we could get it ourselves?” Loki asked, opening the present and pulling out a Slytherin scarf, hat, gloves, a wand and a few other miscellaneous bits. The scarves and hat was more like what the students would wear, not the ones with the logos on them.

“I made them myself,” Darcy said. “Well, the hat, scarf and gloves. And the wand, actually. I thought Slytherin would be more your taste. But, I also got you some things Harry Potter…’cause of the black hair and the green eyes…” Darcy was trying to make it sound more exciting than she thought it was. She picked up the circular glasses (glass lenses, not prescribed) and put them on him. “So you can be a Slytherin Harry now.”

Loki smiled and brought her into a hug, kissing her cheek. “You made some of these, and that is wonderful. Thank you, it is a great present,” Loki said, ushering her back into the seat next to him.

The rest of the morning was whiled away with more presents; Thor had gifted Jane, Darcy and Pepper with beautiful Asgardian dresses while Natasha got more of a combat-orientated dress. Sort of. It was a shortish skirt at the front with a longer section at the back, and some form of leather to cover her legs, and a mixture of leather and whatever Natasha usually had in her outfit for the top. Thor had apparently managed to get an Asgardian tailor to fuse a bit of Midgardian material into it. So it looked both nice and yet badass.

Darcy loved hers; it was purple and gold. Beautiful. Tony had gotten her a starkpad and Pepper had gotten her an iPod. Jane had her practically screaming in glee as she opened a present of two front row seats to her favourite rockband. Loki had received presents like a chess set from Clint, an iPod from Pepper as well and Thor told him his present would come later.

All in all, a fantastic morning. Tony had given all of his staff a few weeks off for Christmas, so they had all been taking turns in making dinner for the last week and today, Darcy, Loki, Thor, Jane and Pepper had volunteered to cook Christmas dinner and the others were on cleaning duty. Darcy was glad; it felt more like home, rather than having staff to make dinner. She was sure it would be yummy, but home made had more appeal to it.

“Hey, we can use your celery, Thor,” Darcy said with a grin.

“That celery can stay where it belongs; away from my meal,” Thor said with a laugh.

They all had a laugh making the dinner and it was even better when all ten of them were around the large table the others had set up. “Hey, we’re like the ten disciples…” Tony said.

“I don’t think you could ever be mistaken for someone holy, Tony,” Natasha smirked.

“Right back at you, Tasha,” Tony said.

“Call me that again and you’ll regret it,” Natasha said, casually eating some parsnip.

“Sure thing,” Tony said with a wink.

The meal was great, the banter was funny and Darcy managed to get Loki to wear a pink cracker hat. Score! Plus the crackers had some actual good stuff in them, though the usual bad jokes. Afterwards, the non-cooks of the group cleaned up and they sat around the lounge talking about how they were going to explode from all the food they had consumed. Or at least the humans did. Thor had brought over a bowl of leftovers because the guy had a bottomless pit for a stomach or something.

It was time to bring out the boardgames!

“So, in a fight where neither of you had a weapon or magic, who would win?” Tony asked Thor and Loki.

“Most likely Thor; he is stronger,” Loki said.

“Though you are more agile, Loki. Forget that not,” Thor said.

“It is difficult to say; we have not really properly sparred without weapons and magic,” Loki said. “I suppose we had the odd fight when we had disagreements, but that particular instance showed Thor as victor.”

The rest of the day was filled with fun, games and friendly chatter, topped up by a variety of beverages. In the evening, Tony Stark’s Christmas Party commenced and considering what happened last time, Darcy made sure not to get drunk. Other people came to the party, like Ava and Leo, a few friends of Tony’s including Happy and Rhodey. Even Fury and a number of other agents came. She and Loki had gotten Ava and Leo a present, well, Ava two since they couldn’t resist getting baby clothes for the unborn child. She couldn’t help but be excited; Ava was five months along and she was glowing! She couldn’t help but feel just a little bit broody herself, but it was far too early for children and she didn’t have a man yet…hadn’t even gone there!

Darcy had managed to avoid standing under any sneaky mistletoe Tony or whoever had put up, whereas Tony was taking every opportunity to kiss Pepper underneath it. As was Thor, who had found the tradition quite delightful and Darcy had laughed at the amount of quite obvious and silly ways he managed to get Jane underneath the mistletoe. It got to about 10pm when Tony tapped his glass and everyone went quiet.

“Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you’re having a great time; I know I am. As most of you know, Pepper and I took a few days before we returned here and, well, we have news,” Tony said, putting his arm around Pepper. “Pepper and I are engaged. You may now shower us with praise and compliments.”

Everyone cheered and there was a whole bunch of noise. Darcy was thrilled for them and knew that was going to be the wedding of the year. From the sounds of it, they wanted either a June wedding or a December wedding. Honestly, Darcy thought the two of them should marry as soon as possible; it had been a long time coming and both of them deserved happiness. She smiled at Loki, clinking his glass with her own as they drank to the good news.

 

* * *

 

The next few days were bursting with activity, partying and general festivities. Darcy had spent Boxing Day with her family and Jane had gone with Thor to Asgard on the 27th. Darcy couldn’t help but hug her friend, telling her to enjoy herself and to take lots of pictures. She kept Loki distracted, as she knew he was feeling a little down about not being able to go up as well. It turned out that Thor had gotten Loki’s presents on his behalf. She knew he was being punished, even if she tended to forget that these days, but she still felt sorry for him.

New Year’s Eve had come and Darcy loved it. Whether she was at a party or a cozy gathering at home, she just enjoyed it very much. Tony was having another party (and she wasn’t sick of them either!) and while she had invited her family (as she had to the party on Christmas Day), they had already made arrangements. Still, she had plenty of people she liked being around at the party and she planned to video call them to wish them a happy new year. So all was well.

She sat down on one of the sofas with Loki. They both had champagne flutes and Darcy felt quite happy.

“Does Asgard celebrate the changing of years?” Darcy asked. “I mean, since you’ve got all of time, I wouldn’t be surprised if you barely noticed.”

“We do, though from what I have seen of Midgardian celebrations…Asgard does it quite differently,” Loki said. “The parties are quite different here.”

“I would pay to see Asgard one day. Sneak me in? I’ll do anything,” Darcy said, nudging his shoulder playfully with hers.

He laughed. “That is if I am able to return,” Loki said.

“You will,” Darcy said. “I have faith.”

Loki chuckled a little, but smiled at her fondly. He stood up then and offered her his hand to help her up. “How about we take this to the balcony? It is a little crowded in here,” Loki said.

“Okay, we have fifteen minutes until midnight, so we have time,” Darcy said, taking his hand and Loki helped her up.

He led her out onto the balcony and to the railing, which they leant against. They were overlooking the helipad and the Iron Man pad was to their right, just above their level. Loki had to admit, he did like the tower, even if it had been his prison for the last five months. Five months…it had seemed much shorter, but perhaps he was having a little more fun here than he had expected. He looked to his right at Darcy, who was admiring the view of the night sky.

“Beautiful night, right?” Loki asked quietly.

“It really is, despite it being a city, the sky’s pretty clear. Oh, wait, someone cleaned it for us,” Darcy said, looking at him with amusement. “Thank you Mr. Cleaner.”

“I would like to say it was no trouble, but we nearly became, ah, cracked eggs,” Loki said.

“Yeah, am I glad we’re out here behind the railing,” Darcy said.

“In fairness, I was sat on the landing bay for Tony’s suit; there is no railing there,” Loki said.

“To-may-to, to-mar-to,” Darcy said, flapping her hand. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that she had champagne in that hand and the glass flew out of her hand.

Loki caught it with magic and pulled it back. “I think you should cut down on the alcohol tonight, Darcy. I am still recovering from the last time you were drunk and tried to de-robe me against my will,” Loki said, as if he had been truly violated.

Darcy nudged his shoulder. “One, I’m totally not drunk. Two, shut up, I didn’t know what I was doing,” Darcy said. He could see that she was blushing.

“It sent shivers down my spine; I was violated,” Loki said.

“Can Frost Giants even shiver?”

“That is offensive, Miss. Lewis, I should call your mother,” Loki said.

“Like you have her number,” Darcy scoffed.

Loki smirked at her.

“What??!” Darcy gasped.

“Relax, it is just in case there is something relating to you that she needs to be informed about,” Loki said.

“Totally not far; first you see my embarrassing baby pictures, now you’ve got my mother in your contacts! This is a disaster,” Darcy said.

Loki put his hand on her forehead and projected images of various baby pictures of himself he had seen, also a few of his early childhood. “Is that better?” Loki asked.

Darcy giggling. “Oh my God, you’re so cute,” Darcy said. He sighed. She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you. I was…just joking. Sort of.”

“I believe in fairness, Darcy. My mother does not have a phone, so I cannot make that happen,” he winked.

Since there were speakers set outside, they could hear the music too and right now there was a slow song on, one he surprisingly recognised. It’s only time by Magnetic Fields started playing. He turned to Darcy and held out his hand.

“May I dance with you?” Loki asked.

Darcy looked a little taken-aback, but smiled and nodded. Loki took her right hand in his left hand and put his other hand on her waist, starting to dance slowly with her. He found he enjoyed it very much, just being out here with her and dancing to a song he liked. He didn’t know what time it was, he didn’t much care. Loki didn’t mind missing the new year coming if it meant that he could be out here with her.

Then he heard it; inside they were counting down to Midnight.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

She was beautiful.

Two.

One.

Loki leant down and touched his lips to hers as everyone started cheering and wishing happy new year to each other. Fireworks whizzed into the sky and popped all around them, and he could hear Darcy gasp as he kissed her, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, after a moment of shock, she kissed him back. Her lips were soft and he didn’t push to deepen the kiss. Loki just wanted a sweet moment, because there was no hurry. He didn’t know what came over him, but all he knew was…

This felt right.

Why would I stop loving you a hundred years from now?

The song ended and he pulled away softly. Loki gazed down into her eyes and he reached up to stroke her hair, his hand staying at the part where her neck connected with her shoulder. They remained quiet as they just basked in the moment, blissfully unaware of what was going on inside the lounge. He twirled a finger in her hair and turned them both slightly so she could see the night sky behind him. One purple firework exploded in the sky and turned into words.

May I court you, Darcy Lewis?

Darcy’s eyes widened and flew to his. Loki smiled at her a little shyly; he’d never courted a Midgardian before and they were quite different to those he knew back on Asgard and the other realms. Darcy reached up and kissed him again, this time with more passion. They kissed for a few moments before she found her voice.

“Yes,” Darcy whispered. “Loki…I…really?”

“Of course,” Loki smiled, pulling her into a hug.

They hugged for a few moments before she took him by the hands and moved away from the railing, only to spin him around. It was all rather fun and giddy until they lost their balance and fell over. Luckily, he was able to cushion her fall. They lay there laughing.

“I can’t believe it,” Darcy said.

“Me neither,” Loki laughed.

“Does this mean I can de-robe you now, Mr. Mischief?” Darcy asked.

“No, Miss. Taser, you cannot. You will need a ring on this Mischief’s finger before any such naughtiness,” Loki said.

“Then marry me tomorrow,” Darcy said, making Loki laugh. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding…I’m not ready for little Loki right now.”

Loki made a face. “’Little Loki?’ Please, do not name…” Loki said, waving his hand in a circle.

“You don’t do that in Asgard?” Darcy asked.

“We refer to them as genitals, though sometimes cruder words,” Loki said.

“Well, that’s good. It’s kinda weird when men name their doo-dars,” Darcy said. Loki shook his head at her. “You don’t call them your family jewels, do you?”

Loki made even more of a face. “The only jewels around here are those eyes in that head of yours,” Loki said.

Darcy flopped down against him with a soft sigh. “You’re sweet,” Darcy said. “No one’s ever said anything like that to me before.”

“Asgard does not have many nicknames for things…and Darcy, you will be hearing more than just that. I suppose there are far too many blind men and women out there,” Loki said.

“Ditto…” Darcy said. “Erm, as much as I’d love to stay out here longer, I’m starting to feel a chill.”

Loki sat up and helped her up onto her feet. “Of course, let us—” Loki started, turning towards the door before he stopped, shocked.

“Mother?” Loki gasped.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Happy dance* It happened sooner than intended; I think they were supposed to kiss, but get together sometime later, but I decided, what the hell. ;D


	18. And shatters your life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki gets to spend some time with his mother. 
> 
> However, things are not always so simple in life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Sorry for the crappy summary. I really didn't know what to write without spoiling too much, but this chapter's taken a different turn to how I originally imagined it. 
> 
> Thanks for all your kudos and comments, they make me smile. <3 I love hearing what people think about my story and do let me know if there's ever anything you'd like to see in it, I will try to accommodate it. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Loki stood there staring at his mother, unable to believe that she was there. He was still holding Darcy, who was also quiet. His mother walked forward until she was in front of him and pulling him into a warm embrace, to which he immediately returned. The last time he had seen her, he had been so angry and she had looked so disappointed. Now, Frigga was here and embracing him, bringing up the feelings of regret and shame again, even though he was slowly moving past all that. He pulled back and looked down at his mother.

"What are you doing here?" Loki asked.

"I came to see you, of course, and to wish my son a good birthday, albeit a little late," Frigga smiled. "Thor told me to tell you that he apologises for his late present."

He blinked, remembering what his brother had said on Christmas day. Of course, he had arranged for Frigga to visit even though Loki wasn’t really supposed to see his parents until he atoned for his sins. Honestly, Loki had forgotten all about it; he had been enjoying himself too much and relishing in Darcy’s presence. She made him forget he had problems; that he was born to a race who he had grown up believing were monsters. She accepted him for who he was and what he was.

Loki loved her. They hadn’t even known each other properly for a year and yet he felt it. Even if it was only early for her, it mattered not. She had accepted his suggestion and that was all that mattered.

He smiled at his mother. "This is a wonderful present. Oh, mother, this is Darcy Lewis. Darcy, this is my mother," Loki said.

Darcy stepped forward and curtsied; Loki could sense that she was a little nervous, which made her all the more adorable to him. She looked at him with a glare. "It’s your birthday?" She hissed.

"Technically it was yesterday…I had other more important things on my mind," Loki said.

Darcy rolled her eyes at him and he knew this conversation would be continued later.

"It is quite alright, Darcy, you need not be so formal. You may call me Frigga," she said, before she looked at Loki. "A friend, or…?"

His mother never missed a trick.

"We have started courting," Loki said, to which Darcy sniggered a little.

"Sorry, it’s just so old-fashioned," Darcy said.

Frigga smiled at Darcy and took hold of both her hands. "I am simply happy that both my sons have found love here on Midgard; we have heard from Thor of Loki’s progress, and Thor believes you are a big part of his improvement, so thank you," Frigga said.

"It, uh, I didn’t really do anything. Just bugged the shit out of him and invade his privacy," Darcy said. "Uh, sorry, I don’t have a filter."

Frigga laughed and brought her into a hug. "You must be truly special; my youngest has always been one to hide away and be alone when he is not wishing for company. Yet you have persevered," Frigga said, pulling back and taking one of her hands. "Come, let us take this inside. I would like to meet some of your new friends."

Loki rolled his eyes and held his arm out so Frigga could take it. They walked back inside and saw that a number of people had left, but the Avengers minus Thor and plus a few others were still there, drinks in hand. He led his mother and now-girlfriend over to the group and cleared his throat.

"Everyone, this is my mother Frigga," Loki said.

 

* * *

 

The party went on and his mother enjoyed meeting every single one of the Avengers. Tony was clearly trying hard to be polite and sensible in front of her, though the odd quip did pass through his ill-censored mouth. Bruce and Steve were naturally polite and friendly, and Natasha and Clint were respectful. His mother spent more time speaking to those two than the others, though he didn’t listen in. Instead, he had been pulled to the side by Darcy and spent the night talking to her, apologising to her that he had neglected to mention his birthday was also New Year’s Eve and promising that they could have a mini celebration sometime. He later carried her back to her room when she had fallen asleep and showed his mother to a room.

Unfortunately, she could only stay a few days, but those few days were better than nothing; Loki only wished he could be given his powers back and permission to return to Asgard once more. He would love to show Darcy his home, but another time in the future, hopefully. For now, he had Darcy who made him truly happy. His mother was right; Darcy was a leading factor in his rehabilitation. She neither pretended his actions were okay nor chastised him too horribly for them. Loki had felt a lot of guilt for his actions after the initial anger and resentment had drifted away; emotions carried over from the whole reason he fell from Asgard in the first place and from his time with Thanos and under his thrall.

11am came around and Loki had decided to wake Darcy up with some pancakes. He opened the closet door, the same one Darcy had managed to get through with that laser instrument of hers, and suddenly the wall between their closets was gone. He stepped through into her apartment and proceeded to make her pancakes. He added a few extra touches to them before piling them up onto two plates and taking them through to Darcy’s room. He set them down onto the side before crawling onto her bed and touching his lips to her temple.

 

* * *

 

Darcy opened her eyes and rolled over onto her back, blinking up at the sight of her boyfriend. Boyfriend. God, that was still so weird. She had a boyfriend and he was an Asgardian Prince…and recovering supervillain, but the past was the past…mmm, is that pancakes she could smell?! Darcy smiled up at Loki, groaning a little before making a come closer gesture with her finger. She pulled him in for a kiss when he was close enough.

"Is that pancakes I smell? Better get them over here, Snow monkey," she said.

Loki reached over to the side and brought the pancakes to her. "Please refrain from calling me that," Loki said, though he didn’t seem too bothered.

"Okay," Darcy said. "Snow monkey."

Loki held the pancakes up higher and she jumped a little (or something akin to that when you were still lying/sitting in bed), catching him by the wrist, but sending the pancakes flying into her wall. She stared at them before looking at Loki with a miffed expression, pouncing on him and rolling him onto his back in the process. Darcy spotted the other plate of pancakes.

"There’s more, that’s cool," Darcy said, reaching over for them.

"They were mine," Loki said.

"And you forfeited them when you sent mine to the floor," Darcy said.

"You are the one who jerked my wrist," Loki countered.

"You were depriving me of the pancakes!" Darcy said.

"I am not a snow monkey," Loki said, his face leaning in closer to hers. Unfortunately she overbalanced them both and they landed between the chest of drawers and the bed on their sides, laughing their heads off.

"I like this; most girls get or expect a romantic breakfast in bed, but I get my breakfast thrown to the floor and my boyfriend squashed against me rocking a hard on," Darcy said.

"It was supposed to be romantic, you just insist on pet names," Loki said.

"You’re not actually upset; you’re just being a pest," Darcy pointed out before kissing him on the lips and all talk stopped for a little while.

Eventually Loki managed to get them out from their sardine position and sat her back down on her bed. He picked up the plate and handed it to her. He really was the sweetest. Darcy ate half of one, moaned at the sheer deliciousness of it and then fed him the other half, repeating for the other pancakes.

She was just finishing off the last bite when she took in his attire; black bottoms and a black dressing gown over them. She could see his collarbone and not much more. Even so, it was a rare bit of skin; he was the least likely person to be caught with skin other than his face, some neck and hands showing. God knows she’d either seen or heard things about the others to know this. Especially Tony, but that was a given.

Darcy definitely approved of the dressing gown. "Nice pjs."

"Oh, darling, do you really think I wear clothes to bed?" Loki asked with a smirk, which made her eyebrows disappear into her hair.

"My my," Darcy said. "Are you trying to put me off my breakfast?"

Loki gave her a small shove as they laughed and she stood up after he vanished the dishes, pulling Loki up so she could force him to watch another film and cuddle.

"I hope your mom visits again; she was awesome," Darcy said. "The story about you racing through the hallways naked as a toddler were hilarious."

"Perhaps I will have you running naked through the hallway today and it will be even funnier," Loki smirked, not letting her go as she struggled in his arms. "Seeing you in all of your glory."

"Yeah? Try me," Darcy said, holding up her taser and wiggling it a little.

Loki laughed and wrapped his fingers around the hand holding the taser before he pulled it out of her hand and put it to the side, instead wrapping his arms around her. They sat there quite comfortably watching the film she had put in.

 

* * *

 

Loki was between the worlds, in the void where he had been ‘rescued’ by Thanos. He sat leaning against a wall in a familiar square room that had no visible exits. He wrists were shackled above his head and his shoulders ached, as if he had been there for days…

Muscle memory.

The room had high ceilings and somewhere in the middle sat a square window, though it brought no comfort, for it let in an eerie blue-grey light. The room lay mostly in shadows otherwise. There was rarely any sound, and when there was, it was a low howling of the wind. He stared at the opposite wall; he had given up counting bricks, for he had done it a hundred times before. How long had it been since he was last brought before the titan? How long had it been since he’d had sustenance? Slept? He could not tell night from day, nor could he count down the minutes.

It was simply too much.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but the thunk of the door opening broke the painful silence, though he would rather that than what was to come. His heart beat painfully in his chest as cold dread filled him. Loki tried ever so hard to move away from the incoming threat, but he had nowhere to go nor any real energy to do anything but flail his legs. The shadow moved through the room and he felt their scorching hands on his wrists as they unchained him from the wall.

"Get up," the shadow hissed.

Loki fell forward onto his forearms and breathed shakily before a hand grasped his hair and yanked him up painfully to his feet. His legs felt weak, but he had no choice in the matter and had to walk as he was pushed out of the room and down the path towards the centre. He was pushed to his knees in front of the stone throne that sat Thanos, who was turned away from him.

"Well? Have you decided, Laufeyson? Will you bend your will to mine? Or will you subject yourself to more…persuasion?" Thanos’ deep and gravelly voice spoke.

There will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where we cannot find you.

"Why not just kill me? Why do you need me, when you are surely powerful enough to get it yourself?" Loki asked.

Thanos’ laughter echoed and made him flinch.

"Do not question me, Asgardian," Thanos said.

You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain.

Loki saw something in the corner of his eye, something that didn’t belong in this scene. But he couldn’t quite catch it.

"I think it is time to turn up the heat." Thanos’ words felt like a physical burn.

I have found you, Asgardian. And you are weak…both in body and in mind…but do not despair…you will know pain soon enough.

 

* * *

 

Tony had realised that Darcy wasn’t in her office where she was supposed to be, so he’d asked Jarvis and he had informed him that she was trying to wake Loki from a violent nightmare. Huh. He made his way to Loki’s apartment and let himself in; the door was open anyway. He found Darcy in Loki’s room.

"Loki! LOKI! Wake up! You’re just dreaming, wake up!" Darcy shouted, shaking Loki, who was screaming out and writhing in his sleep.

He looked absolutely dreadful, sweating all over and he must have bitten too hard on his lip or tongue or something, because a trickle of blood slid down his jaw. Then his eyes opened and he growled before he pushed Darcy right across the room into the wall. Tony rushed to her side, but she was out cold. Alive, thankfully.

"Jarvis, get help, pronto," Tony asked.

"Already done so, sir," Jarvis answered.

Loki stood up slowly, phasing into his armour before he stepped over to Tony in a rather predatory way. All of a sudden Tony was pushed against the wall, Loki’s hand squeezing so hard that he could barely breathe. What the hell had happened to Loki that he was reverting back to Dr. Evil?

"Loki, stop this. What-what-" Tony managed to get out, but he couldn’t go any further.

"You will all die by my hand," Loki said. "Every last one of you. Starting with the ones you love."

He kicked out at Loki, but couldn’t do much.

"Unless you give me the Tesseract and the sceptre. Your precious Pepper Potts may be away from the tower, but no one can hide from me," Loki said. "So what will it be, Tony Stark? Will you give me what I want or will you watch as your fiancée writhes in pain?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know, I'm bad, I'm sorry. This new little plot just came to me. xD


	19. Suddenly your world has changed forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up in Stark tower and the whole building going into lock down, what does this mean for the five Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents remaining in the tower?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope you're well!
> 
> So sorry for the cliffy, I really am, I need to stop doing those, but something tells me it's not something easily resisted. *Holds up Cap's shield.* xD 
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and comments, they mean a lot to me and I love hearing what you think. <3 
> 
> Enjoy!

Unfortunately for Loki, Tony passed out from the pressure on his neck. Loki let go and left the room. He walked down a few corridors and moved up to one of the highest floors until he spotted Natasha Romanov waiting in the corridor for him. She was in her battle gear and her expression was neutral.

"Stand down, Loki," Natasha said.

"Or…what? You will hit me? You do not stand a chance, Agent Romanov," Loki said coldly. He walked forward, slow and with cold determination. "Out of all the Avengers, you and Barton are the weakest. What do I have to fear? You have no powers."

Natasha didn’t answer, instead moved forward and activated her Black Widow’s bites as they came together in combat. If anyone was watching, they would see something that could only be described as both beautiful and deadly; while it was a fight, it also looked like a complicated dance, both landing hits and both blocking them as twists and turns intertwined with them both. Neither will admit the other’s skill, as Loki swiftly twirled and elbowed her in the face before using his other hand to push her into the wall with a resounding _bang_.

His arms shook as her Widow bites zapped him but enough was enough. Green magic snaked around her and her eyes rolled back in their sockets as he dropped her, boneless. He carried on walking down the corridor as if he had merely just swatted a fly. To him, he had. The distant sound of whirring technology didn’t bother him; even as the metal casing covered the windows, essentially locking everyone inside the tower. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner had worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. to build a last-ditch protocol; if something in this tower was a threat to the outside, the tower would go into lock down.

Loki walked close to one of Jarvis’ screens and looked into it. "You think your protocol will stop me?" He asked it softly. "Mortals should know that they cannot stop a God from doing what he will…you will all perish."

The screen cracked and broke as Loki turned away from it, contemplating his next move.

"Loki!"

He turned and spotted Steve striding down the corridor towards him. Steve had his shield and was ready to deal with Loki if he had to. Loki walked towards Steve and as he did, the green of his eyes slowly turned to red as his pale skin turned blue. Steve frowned, but stood his ground. However, even if he had tried to run, he wouldn’t be fast enough. Ice wound around him, encasing him until he was a mere statue. Loki’s skin and eyes turned back to their usual colour and a long knife appeared in his hand as he stared at the frozen Captain.

Loki lifted it, but a voice stopped him.

"Loki, don’t do it."

He turned and saw Bruce Banner stood there, palms up. "This is not you, Loki. You’ve come so far, don’t let whatever this is take you down the road of no return," Bruce said, calmly. "We’re your friends."

Loki didn’t answer him, he just started walking towards Bruce. When he was closer, he brought out a potion and shook it.

"You will get me the sceptre. The monster inside you is of no threat to me…this will stop you," Loki said.

"Yeah, I know, I worked with you on that," Bruce said. "I’m more interested in the monster inside of _you_. The only question is…who is it, Loki? Who has taken residence inside you?"

"There is only me," Loki said. "Now get me the sceptre."

"I’m sorry, Loki," Bruce said. " _Ylieyte Maliym._ "

Loki winced and the potion fell out of his hand. Bruce leapt forward and clamped a cuff onto each wrist. Loki started to sway on his feet and fell to the floor.

 

_A few days earlier…_

 

Loki walked into Dr. Banner’s lab where he had been working on whatever it was he worked on in these rooms. He didn’t walk too far in, though, unsure of whether the man would care for his company.

"You can come further in, I don’t bite," Bruce said.

Loki chuckled. "Ah, but maybe I do," he said.

"The other guy isn’t a fan of biting, sorry," Bruce said.

He walked up to the bench Bruce was stood at and they both laughed; Loki felt more at ease around the scientist, suddenly. He didn’t detect any hesitation or reluctance to have the former super-villain near him. Loki leant his forearms on the table top and looked at the tubes and flasks of liquid.

"Dare I ask what you are creating?" Loki asked.

"Just a little something…I don’t know," Bruce said as he took his glasses off and cleaned them. "I decided to try again to find something that would…I don’t know, help with my, uh, problem."

Loki’s eyes brightened with realisation. "A cure? Or something like wolfsbane?" Loki asked.

"Are you calling me a werewolf?" Bruce asked, humour in his voice.

"It is a similar principle, except anger and strenuous situations are your Full Moons," Loki said.

"Hm. I’ve never really thought about it like that. I guess it’s a fair comparison," Bruce said. "That aside…I don’t think I’ll ever find a cure…"

"If you did, would you?"

Bruce walked over to the little sofa area of the lab and sat down, gesturing for the God to join him if he wished.

"Honestly? I don’t know," Bruce said. "Sometimes I do, but other times…no. The other guy became a hero…and it’s the only time that has made me think that…"

"…Maybe it was worth it?" Loki finished for him.

"Yeah," Bruce said.

"You saved a lot of people," Loki said.

"I also broke Harlem and caused a few other problems in my time. I’ve never read the reports…I didn’t want that answered," Bruce said.

"In September, I stopped a woman from driving herself into the river. To top it all off, she was unknowingly pregnant. Her new husband had been in an office building that one of the Leviathans—one of the large flying beasts—sliced through," Loki said, his voice quiet with emotion.

"I’m pretty good at reading people, Loki. Call it an added bonus of having the other guy a part of me. You’re not the same guy you were back then," Bruce said. "For one, you don’t have blue eyes anymore."

Loki looked at him with an incredulous frown.

"Yeah, I noticed," Bruce said. "They have a saying here on Earth: The eyes are the windows to the soul. Your eyes now are alive, happy…back then they were cold, desperate…I don’t know, you definitely didn’t look very healthy."

He chuckled a little before letting out a sigh. "You know exactly what happened, do you not?" Loki asked.

"My guess is that Clint and the others aren’t the only ones who were under the sceptre’s influence," Bruce said.

Loki closed his eyes. "That is correct," he said.

"But why though? Why hide it? You could have told Asgard, Thor…instead you’re here, forced to live with the ones you wronged, knowing that they hated you and perhaps even thought you couldn’t change," Bruce said.

"Is that what you thought?"

"No, I don’t like to hold grudges. I trusted Thor’s judgement and the first time I saw you after you were brought back, I knew there was something different," Bruce said. "That and your eyes were green instead of blue."

"You have not told Thor, have you?" Loki asked, surprised.

"It’s not my place to tell Thor what should come from you. Whatever happened to you, it wasn’t your average slip down to Earth and decide to rule it. And I’ve gone over the tapes, the footage of you in Stuttgart, in my cage…read all the reports of the play by play given by the other guys…when you spoke of freedom in Stuttgart, you weren’t talking about us," Bruce said.

"Dr. Banner…" Loki started.

"Bruce. You can call me Bruce," he said.

"Bruce…I knew you were smart," Loki said.

"But you didn’t expect me to work all this out, did you?" Bruce asked. "I keep quiet, mind my own business."

"Oh, it does not surprise me…I just never expected anyone to, regardless," Loki said. "Darcy did too."

"Of course she did, she’s a smart kid," Bruce said. "You can’t just get into Culver University with any old grades."

Loki smiled. "Yes, she is intelligent," Loki said.

"And under-appreciated. Still, those are the best kinds of people, right? They take you by surprise," Bruce said.

"You are indeed right," Loki said. "So, this wolfsbane potion?"

"Hmmm…do I really want to give you a weapon against me?" Bruce asked with a playful smile.

"Perhaps I will even the score," Loki said.

"Oh? So you’re going to give me the recipe to your kryptonite?" Bruce asked.

"What?" Loki asked.

"Never mind; it’s a comic reference, you probably haven’t heard of comics," Bruce said.

"Are they not those who speak before an audience with funny jokes and stories?" Loki asked. "Or try to."

"I will show you an example some time, but for now, I’m very interested to hear whether or not you can help me with this formula to allow me to either forcefully stop me transforming or allow better control," Bruce said.

"Easy."

_Present time._

 

Bruce walked forward to get to Loki and he saw Darcy coming too. What happened next happened so fast that he couldn’t have done anything to stop it.

Clint rushed out of nowhere from behind him, pushing Bruce to the side and Darcy screeched, throwing herself onto Loki as Clint had already made the motion of stabbing Loki with a knife. Instead, it plunged into Darcy’s back. She cried out and Bruce moved forward and pulled the archer back and away from Darcy and Loki just as Thor arrived on the scene.

"Darcy!" Thor roared and picked her up. He looked to Bruce. "Look after Loki!"

"Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!" Thor yelled and was engulfed in colours until he was gone.

Tony walked in looking worse for wear as Clint managed to break free of Bruce’s hold. "Jarvis," Tony said.

Out of nowhere, something like Tony’s suit flew at Clint, enveloping him and making him fall to the floor. His head wasn’t covered, but his arms and legs were restricted.

"Good, stay there," Tony said. He looked up at the ceiling. "You’re paying for that, Katniss."

"He killed Tasha!!!" Clint hissed through his teeth.

"Agent Romanov is, in fact, alive, Sir," Jarvis countered. "You merely took one look at her and started towards Loki."

Tony pointed both hands at the Jarvis console near to them. "I don’t even have to make my own witty come backs. Nice one, Jarvis," Tony said.

"With pleasure, Sir," Jarvis said.

"Why are you helping him? He’s frozen Steve and knocked out Natasha…Steve could be dead!" Clint said.

"Nah, he’s just an unfortunate Capsicle. Barton, I understand you’re angry; the mind control thing really messed up your head. But you’re not the only one with problems," Tony said.

"It surprises me that you’re so calm about this," Bruce said.

"Right back atcha," Tony said. "Listen. This isn’t Loki doing the damage, it’s something else. Do you want to know why?"

"Remember when Thor brought Loki down? Loki cannot hurt anyone, physically or magically, Thor saw proof of it when he tried to avada kadavra him in the early days of his stay. Odin is an extremely powerful being and was able to strip Thor of his Godly powers, stop him using Mjolnir and all that. There is no way Loki could have broken that. Number two, I’m not the most observant of guys, but Pepper and Jarvis are. When he came down last year, he had blue eyes. Now he has green. Ring any bells, Merida?" Tony asked.

Clint lay there staring at the ceiling.

"I just hope Thor will get Darcy help on time…otherwise, there’s going to be hell on Earth. Loki can’t hurt you, but Thor can," Tony said. "Loki stopped me losing the one person I cannot live without. I don’t want to see him lose his."

"You can’t prove he’s not gotten past the restrictions; Loki is the most powerful wizard Thor knows, so how could he not?" Clint asked.

"He’s human right now—" Tony said just as Loki said. "—Sorcerer, not wizard."

Tony and Bruce looked to Loki, who still looked rather out of it.

"Hey, buddy…" Tony said.

Loki looked grim, his eyes now fixed on the cuffs he wasn’t able to get out of.

"What happened? The last thing I remember is falling asleep and the nightmares…" Loki said. He looked at the hole in the roof. "Has Thor come back?"

Tony walked over to him and dropped down next to him. He pulled off the cuffs and threw them back to Bruce. Loki sat up and looked at Tony, worried now. He realised that something must have happened.

"I have hurt people again…right? I do not remember…" Loki said.

"Yeah, it’s kind of a mess, but there’s no one dead. We’ll let you regain your senses first, but we’d really like you to unfreeze the Cap and wake up Natasha…" Tony said.

"Is Darcy alright?" Loki asked. "Where is she?"

Tony and Bruce shared a look, which worried him even more. "Where is she?" He asked.

"Asgard. Barton tried to stab you but she jumped on top of you and took the hit, Thor took her straight up there to get her healed," Tony said.

Anger flushed through him, but Tony’s hand was on his chest. "Stay there, Jack Frost," Tony said.

Loki glared at Tony. "I ask that you do _not_ call me that," he hissed.

Tony shrugged. "Just chill," Tony said. "I mean, relax. I meant relax. Honest."

"How many people saw?" Loki asked bitterly.

"Cap, Jarvis and me," Tony said. "I don’t know why you’re so worried about it; the blue really brings out your eyes."

"Do not jest with me today, Stark," Loki hissed. "Darcy could be—"

"Hey, hey. That’s what this is about. Distraction," Tony said. Bruce sat down on Loki’s other side. "Now, Darcy will be okay, let’s just not think about all that for now."

"I cannot think of anything else," Loki said through gritted teeth. Before either of them could react, he shot up and moved down the corridor at a quick speed. Tony and Bruce ran after him.

Loki led them into the pent house lounge and over to a large screen. "Jarvis, you will show me what happened to Darcy," he said.

"I’m not sure that’s—" Jarvis started.

"Just do it, J. It’ll be better to just go along with it," Tony said.

He watched with great sadness as Darcy was stabbed and Thor came to her quickly. "Can you…project estimates? A hologram with the estimated…" He couldn’t even finish, but Jarvis understood what he meant as he watched the hologram.

Loki analysed it from every angle and it looked awful. She was _human_. He wasn’t sure she could survive that and his hand cupped his mouth. He shook his head and waved the hologram away, walking over to the sofa and dropping onto it. How could this happen? How could he let this happen? He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t. His face dropped into his hands, unable to cope with the likely loss of his love. No matter what he did, he wasn’t allowed love. Why else would it always be snatched away from him?

"Sir, what should we do about Agent Barton?" Jarvis asked in the background.

"I’m kinda busy right now, J. Get some other agents to move him or something," Tony said.

Tony sat down next to Loki and put his hand on Loki’s shoulder. "Hey, buddy, Asgard’s all full of the impossible, right? There’s still hope," Tony said.

"I understand, you know? If that was Pepper…Bruce would probably be prying me away from Barton right now…he might already be dead. I don’t know…it’s not something I want to think about," Tony said, his tone serious.

Loki felt tears run down his cheeks; he didn’t want to show weakness in front of Bruce and Tony, but he couldn’t stop them. Luckily for him, they didn’t say anything, just sat on either side of him, being the comfort he never thought he’d get from them.

"Sir, I hate to interrupt, but Miss. Potts is on her way," Jarvis said. "Should I reverse the lock down?"

"No, Jarvis. Just…send her to the Plaza for now, tell her I’ll explain later," Tony said.

"Of course, Sir," Jarvis said.

Tony watched as the former super villain sat back and rested his head against it, staring up at the ceiling, tear tracks down his cheeks. He couldn’t blame him; that would have been him, and that had been him some times after the whole wormhole thing. He needed therapy, _proper_ therapy, and he was going to drag Loki there. Whatever this guy was going through, he probably could do with professional help.

He looked at the windows which still had the metal casing over them. Honestly, he worried that the God would run and jump, because if there was one thing that the three men on this couch had in common, was the urge to jump, to end it…to shake hands with the void. He knew about Loki’s choice to let go of gungnir from Thor talking about the happenings before Loki came to Earth.

Tony knew about Bruce’s attempt too and Tony…he had never explicitly thought about it or tried it, but… _l’appel du vide._ Which was ironic considering he had been _inside_ the void. Now that urge had died and to hell with it. It was stupid.

He looked back at Loki and saw that he had fallen asleep.

 

* * *

 

"Pepper!" Tony said. "Since when have you been back in New York?"

"Shut up, Tony."

Tony wrapped her up in a hug and moved from side to side with her. "I missed you. Never leave again," Tony said.

"Maybe you should come with me next time, New York might be a little safer," Pepper said.

"Are you blaming this on me?" Tony asked.

"I’m not _not_ blaming you," Pepper teased him.

"Offended. Seriously offended," Tony said, but didn’t let go of her.

Meanwhile, Loki sat outside on the balcony with Bruce, who he knew was there to keep an eye on him; Tony was about as subtle as a red dress in a black and white film. Still, it felt good to have company. Despite the danger of yesterday passing, Tony had kept the tower in lock down as a precaution, which was a sensible thing to do. He knew it had been Thanos that made him do what he did and he didn’t know how to stop the titan from doing it again. At least the others in the tower were fine, with no lasting damage to either Natasha or Steve. They had been surprisingly understanding. 

He was taken out of his thoughts by the sudden explosion of light on Iron Man’s landing pad and from the Bifrost came the figures of Thor, Jane, his mother and…Darcy! Loki made his way quickly and clumsily over to them, taking Darcy up into his arms as soon as he was close enough.

"Hey, hey man, careful there, I’m still healing," Darcy said.

"I am sorry, Darcy. I am so sorry. For everything," Loki said.

"Hey, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. I mean, Clint’s going to hear it from me, but I understand why he was so mad," Darcy said. She leant back and took his face in her hands. "Are you okay?"

"I am now that you are here, now that I know you live…it was dreadful enough hearing that you had been stabbed on my account, but to learn that I—" Loki started.

"It was that monster, not you Loki. I saw him, saw a glimpse of what he did to you…then I woke up," Darcy said.

Loki frowned. "What?" He asked. "How?"

Then he thought for a moment. It took him a few minutes, but it all clicked. Every dream he’d had, every nightmare…there was a shadow he could never quite see straight on. Something in the corner of his eye that disappeared as soon as he looked over. It was _Darcy_?!

"Darcy…is this the only dream you have seen?" Loki asked.

"Umm, I’ve had some odd dreams, but I can never really remember them. Not until that one," Darcy said. "I ran into your room as soon as I woke up and you were writhing…it was horrible."

Loki pulled her closer again, his cheek resting on her head. Thor, Jane and his mother had all gone inside, but he didn’t want to move. He just wanted to hold her and not let go, too afraid that this was a dream.

"I think…you may be a Dreamwalker," Loki whispered.

"A what now?" Darcy asked.

"A Dreamwalker…you can visit people’s dreams, though right now it’s extremely untamed," Loki said.

"Sounds…exciting? Can they do magic?" Darcy asked.

"Yes, chances are you have magic, but your mortality has kept it hidden," Loki said.

Darcy squeezed him harder before taking his hand to lead him back inside. They joined everyone gathered in the lounge and Loki felt calmer, happier already.

"Brother!" Thor beamed and enveloped him into one of his usual hugs. "I am glad to see you well again…you gave everyone quite a scare."

"I know…I will explain in a short while," Loki said. "It surprises me that few are truly angry with me."

"My son, I saw a glimpse of what happened…you are not to blame, I only wish I could have seen it sooner or Thor may have reached you on time," his mother said.

"I am lucky for Thor’s quick thinking," Loki said, looking up at Thor with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"It was nothing, Loki," Thor said, but became serious. "But you need to be truthful with us from now on. No more secrecy."

Loki nodded solemnly; he hated showing weakness, but some things had to be done. After his mother stepped back, he found himself surprised by the hug Pepper gave him after the one she gave Darcy.

"I made Jarvis spill the beans; I’m glad you’re okay," Pepper said.

Loki patted her back. "I am touched by your concern," he said.

His eyebrows raised as he leant back and something came to his attention. Oh my. "Ah, Pepper…" Loki said, before dropping his mouth close to her ear. "Are you aware that you are…?"

Pepper looked at him. "What? What am I?" She whispered back.

"…pregnant," Loki finished.

"What?" She asked faintly. "Are you…are you serious?"

"Magic does not lie, my dear…and my mother is smiling at you, so I am not the only one who senses it," Loki said.

"Oh…oh my, I need to-I need to tell Tony, excuse me," Pepper said, handing him the wine she had yet to touch.

Pepper pulled Tony to the side a little. "Tony…I have some news," she said. "I’ve only just found out myself…"

"What is it?" Tony asked. "Don’t tell me your dad refuses to let you marry me because I will fight him. Probably. Not."

"No, no, he likes you. Tony…I’m pregnant," Pepper said.

The drink in Tony’s hand slipped out of his hand and his eyebrows flew up into space. "You’re what? I’m-I’m sorry, I might be concussed, I thought you said—" Tony said.

"You heard right, Tony," Pepper said with a smile.

Tony looked down at her stomach, eyes slightly wide. The whole room was quiet. It was a few minutes until Tony finally reacted. He threw his arms around her and had both incredulity and happiness in his expression.

"I can’t…I can’t believe it, Peps…we’re going to be parents? You and me?" Tony said.

Pepper beamed at him and reached up to kiss him.

No one seemed to notice the small, sad smile Natasha had on her face. No one seemed to notice her quietly leave the room save for Clint, who was clearly restraining himself, knowing not to follow her, and Frigga, who didn’t know Natasha well enough and followed her right out the room.

"We all should celebrate; how about a meal? On me," Tony said.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two words Bruce said to immobilise Loki are made up. It may have been more impressive to look up Norse words but I'd rather just make up words than get Norse words wrong. xD
> 
> Tony's little French phrase "l’appel du vide" means the "call of the void." 
> 
> Until next time!


End file.
